SUMMARY. Staringite, (Fe,Mn)0.~(Sn,Ti)4.5(Ta,Nb)l.oO12, occurs as inclusions in tapiolite from pegmatites at Serid6zinho and Pedra Lavreda, Paraiba State, NE. Brazil. An indexed powder pattern is presented. The mineral is tetragonal with a 4"742 ~ and c 9"535/k, and most probably has a 'trifutile' structure. Electron-microprobe analysis yielded Ta205 2I "5 ~O, Nb20~ I '8, SnOz 73"3, TiO2 o'o3, FeO 3"7, MnO 0"3, sum Ioo.6 %. Dealt 7'17. Micro-indentation hardness (load IOO g) IO33-II87 kg/mm~; reflectivity at 47o nm (Ro) 12.8 to (Re) I4"5 %, at 546 nm I2"I-13"9, at 589 nm 12"o-I3"7, and at 65o nm I P8-I3"6; staringite is uniaxial positive.QUALITATIVE and semi-quantitative X-ray fluorescence analyses were performed by the fourth author at the University of Lisbon on a series of Nb-Ta minerals from pegmatites in NE. Brazil. Some samples proved to contain minor tin. After a short visit to the department of mineralogy and petrology of the Institute for Earth Sciences of the Free University at Amsterdam, Mrs. Adusumilli left some samples for further study. Subsequent investigation by light-optical, X-ray diffraction, and electron-microprobe methods showed the tin-content to be due partly to the rare mineral wodginite, partly to a new Sn-Ta mineral. This mineral was named staringite (pronounced sta-ring-ite) in honour of Dr. W. C. H. Staring (I8O8-77), founder of geology and mineralogy in The Netherlands.
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