Mineral.
Deposita 24, 176-182 (1989)
Sphalerite stars in chalcopyrite: Are they always the result of
an unmixing process?
Ch. Marignac
Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Parc de Saurupt, 54042 Nancy C~dex, France; and C.R.P.G., Rue N.D. des Pauvres, BP20,
54501 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
Abstract. Sphalerite skeletal crystals in inclusions in chalco-
pyrite (so-called sphalerite stars) are widely thought to be
the result of high-temperature unmixing processes. Detailed
observations in the chalcopyrite ores at A~n Barbar (Alge-
ria) demonstrate that the unmixing theory cannot work in
this case. It is here proposed that skeletal crystals are the
result of a local supersaturation in sphalerite at the growing
fronts of chalcopyrite. This implies a high precipitation rate,
estimated to be ca. 1 0 - 6 m sec -1, remaining compatible,
however, with a recharge in ore-forming components by the
flowing mineralizing solutions. In addition to A~n Barbar,
this explanation is probably of more general significance
since the kind of relationships described here is by no means
restricted to this particular deposit.
Chalcopyrite blebs and dots in sphalerite as well as spha-
lerite skeletal crystals (so-called sphalerite stars) in chalco-
pyrite have long been considered to be exsolution products
(Schneiderh6hn 1922). Experimental results (high-temper-
ature dissolution experiments, Borchert 1934; Buerger 1934;
Nakano 1937) and crystallographic data (epitaxic inter-
growth, Gruner 1929 in Sugaki and Tashiro 1957) gave the
theoretical basis for such an interpretation.
Until recently the exsolution theory was widely accepted
among researchers of ore deposits (Edwards 1965; Ramdohr
1955, 1969, 1980; Craig and Vaughan 1981). It was sup-
ported by new experimental data (Sugaki and Tashiro 1957;
Mob 1975), theoretical studies (Fujii 1970), and detailed
micrographic studies of sphalerite-chalcopyrite inter-
growths (Firsov 1961; Aoki 1971). As the relationships be-
tween the development of twins in chalcopyrite and the
appearance of skeletal sphalerite in it are obvious (Ramdohr
1969; Aoki 1971; Stanton 1972), it is usually proposed that
exsolution of sphalerite stars takes place during inversion of
the high-temperature cubic form of chalcopyrite into the
usual tetragonal form, with the twins being inversion twins
(Ramdohr 1969, 1980; Hanus 1976).
Unorthodox views, however, were sometimes taken; for
instance, Bonev (1974) proposed a metasomatic theory for
the appearance of skeletal crystals of sphalerite in chalco-
pyrite.
Temperatures of unmixing, both of chalcopyrite from
sphalerite and of sphalerite from chalcopyrite, were esti-
mated from high-temperature dissolution experiments to be
on the order of 400 °C and more (Buerger 1934; Sugaki and
MINERALIUM
DEPOSITA
@ Springer-Verlag 1989
Tashiro 1957). It must be emphasized that such tempera-
tures seemed to be in good agreement with the widely ac-
cepted concepts of Lindgren (1933) concerning the forma-
tion temperature of the hypothermal classes of ore deposits,
in sulfides of which "exsolution textures" are mostly found.
It has become however more and more evident that in "hy-
pothermal" deposits, chalcopyrite- or sphalerite-bearing
parageneses were deposited at low "mesothermal" tempera-
tures (for instance, at Panasqueira, Kelly and Rye 1979; and
in Miocene tin deposits of Bolivia, Kelly and Turneaure
1970; Grant et al. 1977). Recognition of this fact led some
workers to question the existence of the unmixing process
(Kelly and Rye 1979).
Moreover, recent experimental works on the Cu-Fe-Zn-S
system showed that Cu content of sphalerite and Zn content
of chalcopyrite are high at elevated temperatures, but are
significantly reduced at low temperatures (Wiggins and
Craig 1980; Hutchison and Scott 1981; Kojima and Sugaki
1984, 1985). When quantitatively determined, the copper
content in sphalerite due to chalcopyrite blebs usually ap-
pears too high, taking into account the estimated tempera-
tures of ore deposition so that an exsolution mechanism
cannot be accepted in these cases (Barton 1978; De Waal
and Johnson 1981; Scott 1983; Barton and Bethke 1987;
Sugaki et al. 1987; Marignac 1988 b).
Concerning the sphalerite stars in chalcopyrite, the only
published quantitative determinations of the corresponding
zinc content in chalcopyrite (Sugaki et al. 1987) led the au-
thors to the conclusion that sphalerite crystals are the result
of unmixing. The demonstration of Sugaki et al. (1987) is
however questionable: (1) they give no direct measurement
of Zn content in the host chalcopyrite, which should be
nonnegligible in the case of high-temperature unmixing, and
(2) they refer to the maximum Zn content of intermediate
solid solution (iss), whereas they obtain compositions typi-
cal for Stoichiometric chalcopyrite; in such case limiting Zn
values are lower. They are 0.3 Zn at% at 300 °C and 0.5 Zn
at% at 400 °C (Kojima and Sugaki 1985). These values are
lower than the 0.6-0.7 at% Zn found by Sugaki et al. (1987)
in the Kohmori chalcopyrites, which are thought to be
formed at 370°-400 °C.
It is thus apparent from the very measurements of Su-
gaki et al. (1987) that their conclusion relative to the origin
of skeletal crystals of sphalerite in chalcopyrite cannot be
generally applicable.
Detailed observations on sphalerite skeletal crystals in
chalcopyrites of the polymetallic ore veins at A~n Barbar

(northeast Constantinois, Algeria) provide further evidence
that skeletal sphalerite is not necessarily the result of an
unmixing process (a view already taken by Ramdohr 1969).
Observations in chalcopyrites at Ain Barbar
(northeast Constantinois, Algeria)
Chalcopyrite at AYn Barbar was deposited during an ad-
vanced stage of hydrothermal evolution in polymetallic ore
veins formed in a paleogeothermal field (Marignac 1983,
1988 a). It is superimposed over earlier sphalerite, which is
infiltrated by chalcopyrite veinlets and invaded by chalco-
pyrite blebs (Marignac 1988 b). Chalcopyrite systematically
contains skeletal crystals of sphalerite, except in the veinlets
and blebs and in a rim of 100 gm or more along the contacts
with massive sphalerite.
Chalcopyrite is associated with cubanite (rare) and
monoclinic pyrrhotite. Textural relationships point toward
the existence of a primary assemblage of iss + chalcopyrite
+ pyrrhotite with further transformation of iss into chalco-
pyrite + pyrrhotite (Fig. 1). Such a transformation can be
achieved either by decreasing temperature at constant fs2 or
by increasing fs2 at constant temperature (Mukaiyama and
Izawa 1970). The transformation of iss into chalcopyrite +
pyrrhotite occurred prior to the appearance of pyrite, which
developed from chalcopyrite or pyrrhotite. Thus, the miner-
alogical assemblage records a transition from chalcopyrite-
(•) 0 100 200
, , ~m
0
•
100 200
, , em
~ Chalcopyrite ~ Pyrrhotite
Sphalerite ~ Siderite
@ 010 2~m
Fig. l a-c. Pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite relationships in the
polymetaltic ore veins at Ain Barbar. Directions of twin grids in
chalcopyrite are schematized. Siderite is a late phase occurring in
dissolution microcavities mainly at the expense of chalcopyrite.
a Lamellar intergrowth of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite (sample P20,
Playfair vein); note the parallelism of pyrrhotite lamellae with a
twin grid of the chalcopyrite. Such relationships are interpreted as
the result of the transformation of an early iss-chalcopyrite assem-
blage, b Pyrrhotite platelet superimposed onto a trail of skeletal
sphalerite in chalcopyrite (sample Playf I, Playfair vein); E, extinc-
tion direction of the pyrrhotite crystal; note again the relationships
with twin grid orientations in chalcopyrite, c Intergrowth of a pri-
mary pyrrhotite with skeletal sphalerite (sample G4, Gray vein)
177
pyrrhotite toward chalcopyrite-pyrite, with the iss (cu-
banite)-pyrite never being stable. Fluid inclusion data indi-
cate that chalcopyrite was deposited at about 320°-300°C,
while pyrite development took place between 300 °C and
250 °C (Marignac 1988 c). The estimated temperature of de-
position of chalcopyrite is in good agreement with experi-
mental data on the Cu-Fe-S sytem (Yund and Kullerud
1969; Sugaki et al. 1975), since iss (cubanite)-pyrite disap-
pears between 350°C and 300°C, most probably at 328 °
+_5°C (Yund and Kullerud 1969).
The following facts are relevant for a discussion of the
relationships of sphalerite skeletal crystals with chalco-
pyrite:
1. Pyrrhotite crystals are often superimposed onto the ag-
gregates of skeletal sphalerite (Figs. 1 b, 2 a, d). Taking into
account the paragenetic data, this means that the appear-
ance of skeletal crystals of sphalerite within chalcopyrite
took place very close to the deposition of the primary iss +
chalcopyrite +_ pyrrhotite assemblage before the transfor-
mation of iss into chalcopyrite + pyrrhotite. Early appear-
ance of skeletal sphalerite is also indicated by complex inter-
growths with some primary pyrrhotite crystals (Fig. I c).
Early appearance of skeletal crystals is also recorded in
other deposits, where the sphalerite stars are observed o n the
lamellar cubanite-chalcopyrite boundary (Ramdohr 1969;
Thole 1976).
2. Skeletal sphalerites display an uneven repartition: In the
same host they can appear as irregular patches (Fig. 2 b), as
linear arrays (with variable directions, Fig. 2 c), or as two-
dimensional patterns (with variable directions, Fig. 2d).
This strongly suggests that the skeletal crystals are, at best,
arranged according to a two-dimensional net.
3. The spatial density of skeletal crystals is irregular as well
(Fig. 2 b to d).
4. The morphology of sphalerite inclusions is either truly
skeletal (Fig. 2 e) or cauliflowerlike (Fig. 2 f).
5. The presence of skeletal inclusions is clearly linked with a
complex twinning of the host chalcopyrite, as previously
stated by a number of authors (e.g., Ramdohr 1969; Aoki
1971; Hanus 1976). At A~n Barbar, however, skeletal spha-
lerites are strictly located, for a given chalcopyrite crystal,
within only one of the two twin individuals (Figs. 2 e, f, 3).
Moreover, sphalerite stars appear to induce the develop-
ment of twinning (Figs. 2f, 3). A similar situation can be
observed on the figures published by Aoki (1971, Fig. 5,
p.. 32), Stanton (1972, Fig. 9-21, p. 260), and Hanus (1976,
Fig. 11, p. 139). Such a relationship is also interpreted by
Stanton (1972) as a proof of the anteriority of skeletal
crystals relatively to the twins.
6. The skeletal sphalerite crystals are often concentrated
along chalcopyrite crystal boundaries; there they exhibit a
somewhat distorted habitus, being usually elongated along
the boundaries (Fig. 3).
Discussion
The facts reported in the previous section hardly agree with
the exsolution theory for the following reasons:
1. Because sphalerite skeletal crystals appear very early in
chalcopyrite, it follows that if there was unmixing of spha-
lerite, it must have occurred at temperatures very close to the
formation temperature of the initial solid solution, a rather
178
Fig. 2 a - f . Photomicrographs showing relationships between skele-
tal sphalerite crystals and their host chalcopyrite in the polymetallic
ore veins at Ain Barbar. All scale bars are 200 gm. a lamellar
pyrrhotite (po) superimposed onto a linear array of skeletal crystals
(sp; sample Playf II, Playfair vein); b irregular patches of skeletal
crystals with variable abundances; bt, bismuthinite (sample A33,
Aba'id vein); c linear arrays of skeletal crystals with variable orien-
tations and dimensions (sample Playf II, Playfair vein); d dense
band of reticular skeletal crystals locally superimposed by pyr-
rhotite (po; sample Playf II, Playfair vein); e Relationships between
skeletal sphalerite crystals and chalcopyrite twins as revealed by
epitaxic oxydation (Arnold 1969; sample P7-67, Playfair vein);
f Relationships between skeletal cauliflowerlike crystals and chalco-
pyrite twins as revealed by epitaxic oxydation (Arnold 1969; sample
P7-67, Playfair vein)
 179

Fig. 3. Relationships between skeletal sphalerite

and chalcopyrite in the polymetallic ore veins at
Ain Barbar (sample G4, Gray vein); g, microvugs.
Two facts are significant: (1) the presence of skele-
tal sphalerite crystals induces perturbations of the
grid twins inside chalcopyrite; and (2) the skeletal
w////////A
crystals are concentrated along chalcopyrite
Pyrite boundaries; they take there a characteristic
[-~ Pyrrhotite elongated morphology. Note also the existence of
amoebal sphalerite crystals at the chalcopyrite
Calcite boundaries

Table 1. Analytical results of bulk chemical compositions for chalcopyrite containing starlike sphalerite crystals at Ain Barbar. Composi-
tions of starlike sphalerite crystals are mean values for each vein. Chalcopyrite is taken as stoichiometric CuFeS 2

Sample no. Volume % Sphalerite composition Bulk composition Atomic %

(wt %) (wt %)

Sp Cp Fe Zn S Cu Fe Zn S Cu Fe Zn S

A 33 (Fig. I b) 2.1 97.9 8.4 57.5 32.9 33.3 30.2 1.2 34.7 24.1 25.0 0.9 50.0
P7-67 (Fig. t e) 3.7 96.3 10.2 56.2 33.3 32.8 29.9 2.1 34.7 23.8 24.7 1.5 50.0
Playf II (Fig. I d) 6.6 93.4 10.2 56.2 33.3 31.8 29.3 3.7 34.7 23.1 24.3 2.6 50.0

unprobable situation. At most, the temperature interval for
unmixing would have been on the order of 50 °C. In the case
of starlike sphalerite in chalcopyrite at Panasqueira, Kelly
and Rye (1979) also notice that unmixing should have oc-
curred in a very restricted temperature range and therefore
doubt its existence. Moreover, in the case of unmixing in
such a restricted temperature range, the rate of unmixing
would have been restricted; therefore, a measurable amount
of Zn would be expected in the chalcopyrite itself. Zn was
never detected with the electron microprobe in the chalco-
pyrites of Ain Barbar. This is a quite frequent situation for
chalcopyrites containing skeletal sphalerite (Fujii 1970;
Aoki 1971).
2. Whereas the appearance of a three-dimensional net of
skeletal crystals is expected in the case of unmixing, the
sphalerite stars are actually arranged in less ordered arrays,
at most along two-dimensional nets.
3. The variable spatial density of skeletal crystals cannot be
a mere result of the unmixing process (Brett 1964) and must
therefore be primary in origin: under the assumption of
unmixing, it would represent a Zn zoning in the iss. But, in
such a case the Zn content estimated from the volume of
skeletal crystals in the high-spatial-density zones must be
compatible with experimentally determined solubility limits:
mean Zn contents as measured by Sugaki et al. (1987) are
therefore of limited significance in such cases. Zn content in
areas of dense aggregates of skeletal crystals (Fig. 2 b - e )
was deduced from volume estimates in the same way as
Sugaki et al. (/987), except that the composition of skeletal
crystals was directly measured with an electron microprobe.
Zn content is between 0.9 and 2.6 at% Zn (Table 1), far in
excess of the maximum Zn content of iss at 300 °C (0.3 at%
Zn, Kojima and Sugaki 1985). The unmixing hypothesis is
therefore inadequate in this case, because temperature depo-
sition of chalcopyrite is estimated to be ~ 300 °C.
4. Under the unmixing hypothesis, the observed change in
morphology of skeletal crystals of sphalerite would reflect
the transition from coherent to noncoherent exsolution,
which is determined by an increase in the rate of unmixing
(Brett 1964). There is, however, no correlation between mor-
phology of sphalerite inclusions and their spatial density (cf.
Fig. 2e, f), i.e., a fact which is again difficult to reconcile
with the unmixing theory.
5. A possible explanation of the observed relationships be-
tween skeletal crystals and chalcopyrite twins, in agreement
with the exsolution hypothesis, may be found in considering
180
the twinning as the result of the inversion of high-
temperature cubic chalcopyrite into tetragonal c~and fl chal-
copyrite, the latter bein Zn-rich and subsequently exsolving
sphalerite, as theoretically (Fujii 1970) and experimentally
(Moh 1975; 1977) demonstrated. However, the experimen-
tally determined inversion temperatures (around 400 °C) are
by far higher than the formation temperatures observed at
A/n Barbar, and therefore this explanation is not valid.
Although the complex twins in chalcopyrite are usually
taken as an indication of the cubic-tetragonal inversion in
chalcopyrite (Aoki 1971; Hanus 1976), this is not necessarily
the case (Mc Lean et al. 1972). In fact, it has recently be
experimentally demonstrated that they are strain-induced
deformation twins (Hennig-Michaeli and Couderc 1988), as
already stated by Stanton (1972). This is in good agreement
with the observed relationships, the twins beings clearly in-
duced by the presence of the skeletal crystals of sphalerite.
6. The difference of habit of skeletal crystals when they
occur inside the chalcopyrite crystals or along their bound-
aries is difficult to understand if sphalerite stars are to be the
result of an unmixing: they would be expected to take the
same whatever the kind of crystal defect which allows them
to nucleate.
7. It must be remembered here that experimental evidence
for an exsolution origin is quite scarce. During annealing
experiments of Zn-rich iss, the exsolution products are
usually different from what is found in natural occurrences:
tiny blebs at intergranular limits (Wiggins and Craig 1980);
little stars, often inframicroscopic, and rare (Hutchison
and Scott 1981); skeletal crystals together with vermicules,
blebs, and spots (Sugaki and Tashiro 1957, annealing at
200 ° - 400 °C of iss formed at 475 ° - 530 °C; the authors state
that the "unmixing process is not conspicuous and, in some
case, no appearance of sphalerite has taken place"). In con-
trast, Kojima and Sugaki (1985) obtained typical patterns of
skeletal crystals by exsolution from iss at 500 °C.
As a whole, the preceding facts are compelling evidence
against the exsolution theory in the Ai'n Barbar case. What
is then the origin of the observed textures?
An alternative explanation has been sought in metaso-
matic processes (Bonev 1974), starlike sphalerites in chalco-
pyrite being considered as an equivalent to chalcopyrite
blebs in sphalerite. However, textural evidence for such a
mechanism is completely lacking at A~n Barbar and in other
occurrences.
It is proposed here that skeletal crystals are the result of
a local supersaturation in sphalerite at the growing fronts of
chalcopyrite (the solution from which chalcopyrite is depos-
ited being close to sphalerite saturation). Such an hypothesis
is consistent with the epitaxic habit of skeletal crystals
(Gruner 1929, in Sugaki and Tashiro 1957; Firsov 1961;
Aoki 1971) and with the preceding facts. In particular, it
may explain why skeletal crystals exhibit variable habits
according to whether they occur inside the chalcopyrite
crystals or along their boundaries (Fig. 3).
Occurrences of dendritic inclusions cogenetic with their
host are well known in metallurgical products, where they
are apparently related to rapid cooling rates (i.e., rapid
growth rates in these cases; Flemings 1974). The theory of
eutectic solidification from melt (Tiller 1958) allows an esti-
mation of the growth rate from the mean interspacing be-
tween dendrites. Applied to the case of epitaxic growth of
sphalerite dendrites onto chalcopyrite from aqueous solu-
tions, the theory gives a gross estimate of 10 - 6 m s - 1 for the
growth rate of such assemblages as those observed at A/n
Barbar (see Appendix 1). This is far more rapid than growth
rates in hydrothermal conditions of minerals such as quartz
(at most 5 • 10-8 m s-1, Regreny 1973). It is however on the
same order as the probable circulation rate in the A/n Bar-
bar ore veins since these veins were ascendance zones in a
geothermal field (Marignac 1983, 1988 a): the estimated cir-
culation rates in ascendance zones of geothermal systems are
on the order of 10 6 m s- 1 (for instance, at Wairakei, Elder
1976). This means that the calculated high precipitation rate
of 10-6 m s-1 is compatible with a recharge in ore-forming
components of the flowing mineralizing solutions.
Conclusion
In the A/n Barbar chalcopyrites the presence of skeletal
crystals of sphalerite is not due to unmixing of a previous
solid solution. It most probably results from super-
saturation processes at the growing fronts of chalcopyrite,
inducing the epitaxic nucleation of skeletal sphalerite which
is subsequently trapped in the growing chalcopyrite host.
Valid for A~n Barbar, this explanation is probably of
more general significance since the kind of relationships
described in the previous sections is by no means restricted
to this particular deposit.
Acknowledgements. I am indebted to G. Lesoult from the Labora-
toire de G6nie M6tallurgique at the Ecole des Mines de Nancy for
his help in using the eutectic solidification model. The microprobe
analyses were performed on a CAMEBAX apparatus at the Mi-
croanalyse Service, Nancy I University, with the help of J.-M.
Claude. I thank two anonymous reviewers for their careful reading
of the manuscript.
Appendix
According to Tiller (1958) the growth rate V (cm s- 1) of a dendritic
species (e) during the eutectic crystallization of species (~) and (fl)
from a melt is linked to the interspacing 1m (gm) of the (e) dendrites
by the equation
8s~p TED 11/m~ - 1/m~l
1m -
Lffy0 V (1 - k ~) C z
with
s~p surface energy per unit area (ergs cm 2)
TE eutectic temperature (K)
D diffusion coefficient of the (fl) constituent in the liquid
(cm2 s- 1)
m i slope of the liquidus line for the i constituent (°C wt% 1)
L heat of fusion per unit mass of liquid (cal g- 1)
Q mass per unit volume of liquid (g cm- a)
7 shape factor (usually, 7 = 2)
0 undercooling coefficient at the liquid-solid interface (usually,
0=0.75)
k ~ partition coefficient of the (fl) constituent in the (e) phase at
the eutectic concentration
C E eutectic concentration of the c~constituent (wt%).
This relation is supposedly valid for the case of an intergrowth
of sphalerite dendrites (e species) and chalcopyrite (fl species) pre-
cipitating from an aqueous solution. In this case the eutectic condi-

tions must be replaced by the conditions for simultaneous realiza-
tion of the following equilibria:
Zn 2 + + H2S(aq) = ZnS + 2H +,
Cu 2 + + Fe 2 + + 2H2S(aq) - CuFeS 2 + 4H +.
The T~ temperature is therefore the temperature of chalcopyrite
deposition; it is known from fluid inclusion data (Marignac 1988c)
that TE~570 K for a pressure of ~150 bars (15 MPa).
Using data from Helgeson et al. (1978) the L value is calculated
to be ~ 492 cal g-x; the liquid density 0 is known from. fluid inclu-
sion data (Marignac 1988c), i.e., 0=0,75 g cm -a.
The m~ and m# slopes refer here to the slopes of the (1) and (2)
curves in the (T, Zn concentration:C) space at their intersection
point corresponding to the (TE, CE) conditions. Under the realistic
assumption that pH and the stoichiometric individual ion activity
coefficients (Helgeson 1969) are constant in the close vicinity of the
(TE, CE) conditions, and using the fact that under (TE, CE) condi-
tions the equilibrium
CuFeS 2 + 2 Zn 2 + = 2 ZnS + Cu 2 + ~- F e z+
is achieved, it may be demonstrated that
I l/m# - 1/m~ I = C E {(AG 1 - A G z / 2 ) / R T 2 + [1/2(OAG2/~T)T E
--(~AG1/ST)r~I/R TE},
where R is the gas constant (1.9872 cal mol-1 K-1), and AG 1 and
AG 2 are standard Gibbs free-energy variations; i.e.,
AG1 = Gz,s - GH2S(aq) + grnlf+ -- ['tnzn2+
A G z =GcuF~S2 -- 2 Ga~s(,q ) + 4 pfln+ - gnc~+ -- btrqv~+
(with gnH+, }anz,~+, p.rnc~:+ and larqw~+ the standard chemical po-
tentials of cations).
Using the data of Helgeson (1969) and Helgeson et al. (1978) the
value of l l/m# - 1/m~ I is finally evaluated as 0.34 C E.
The diffusion coefficients of metal cations in aqueous solutions
at elevated temperatures and pressures have been determined by
Oelkers and Helgeson (1988); for the specified conditions a t / k i n
Barbar, D ~ 16 cm 2 s- 1.
For the other parameters, only gross estimates are available.
Taking s,p= 100 erg cm 2 and k ' = 10 2, the relation of Tiller
(1958) finally yields the following estimates:
lm (btm) V (m s-1)
10 4.2 x 10 -6
25 0.7 × 1 0 - 6
50 0.2 × 1 0 - 6
As the observed 1m values are in the 10-50-gm range, it may be
inferred that growth rates of chalcopyrite-sphalerite intergrowths
were variable with time; the mean value, however, is close to 25 gm
(see Fig. 2) so that a mean growth rate of ~ 1 gm s 1 may be
assumed confidently.
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Received: Juty 20, 1988
Accepted: February 1, 1989