Ballas
A variety of Diamond
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About Ballas
Formula:
C
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
498 (as Ballas)
1282 (as Diamond)
1282 (as Diamond)
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:498:7 (as Ballas)
mindat:1:1:1282:5 (as Diamond)
mindat:1:1:1282:5 (as Diamond)
Chemistry of Ballas
Mindat Formula:
C
Element Weights:
| Element | % weight |
|---|---|
| C | 100.000 % |
Calculated from ideal end-member formula.
Elements listed:
Crystallography of Ballas
Morphology:
Pervasive “feather”-like formations observable in cathodoluminescence are a remarkable structural feature of ballases. They are likely related to the diamond fibers, undergoing intense splitting and rotation during ballas formation. These features are enriched in N3 nitrogen-related defects.
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Ballas
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-498.html
Please feel free to link to this page.
Please feel free to link to this page.
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Mineral Dealers:
References for Ballas
Reference List:
FISCHER, ROLAND BARTON (1961) The ‘Ballas’ Form of Diamond. Nature, 189 (4758). 50 doi:10.1038/189050a0
Trueb, Lucien F., Barrett, Charles S. (1972) Microstructural investigation of ballas diamond. American Mineralogist, 57 (11-12) 1664-1680
DeVries, R. C., Robertson, C. (1985) The microstructure of ballas (polycrystalline diamond) by electrostatic charging in the SEM. Journal of Materials Science Letters, 4 (6) 805-807 doi:10.1007/bf00726997
Lux, B., Haubner, R., Holzer, H., DeVries, R.C. (1997) Natural and synthetic polycrystalline diamond, with emphasis on ballas. International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, 15 (5). 263-288 doi:10.1016/s0263-4368(97)87503-8
Haubner, Roland, Lux, Benno (2002) Deposition of ballas diamond and nano-crystalline diamond. International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, 20 (2). 93-100 doi:10.1016/s0263-4368(02)00006-9
Laptev, A. I. (2015) THE CLASSIFICATION OF SYNTHETIC POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND “BALLAS” AND “CARBONADO”. Izvestiya Visshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii. Chernaya Metallurgiya = Izvestiya. Ferrous Metallurgy, 57. 51pp. doi:10.17073/0368-0797-2014-1-51-55
Pavlushin, Anton, Zedgenizov, Dmitry, Vasil’ev, Evgeny, Kuper, Konstantin (2020) Morphology and Genesis of Ballas and Ballas-Like Diamonds. Crystals, 11 (1). 17 doi:10.3390/cryst11010017
Shiryaev, Andrei A., Kaminsky, Felix V., Pavlushin, Anton D., Yapaskurt, Vasily O., Zolotov, Denis A., Averin, Alexei A., Zhilicheva, Olga M., Nickolsky, Maximilian S., Kuznetsova, Olga V. (2023) Structural Peculiarities of Natural Ballas—Spheroidal Variety of Polycrystalline Diamond. Crystals, 13 (4) 624 doi:10.3390/cryst13040624
Localities for Ballas
Showing 8 localities.
symbol to view information about a locality.
The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Botswana | |
| Debswana Diamond Company Ltd |
Brazil | |
| Shiryaev et al. (2023) | |
| Shiryaev et al. (2023) |
Indonesia | |
| White et al. (2016) |
Russia | |
| Shiryaev et al. (2023) | |
| Shcheka et al. (2006) |
| Shiryaev et al. (2023) |
South Africa | |
| Petra Diamonds Ltd |
Vaal River, South Africa