English translation: New Caledonian magnesian concretions
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French to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Geology / anthropological artefacts
French term or phrase:concrétions de magnésie de Nouvelle Calédonie
A text about rain in different cultures here refers to various minerals the appearance of which is reminiscent of rain, rainbows, etc.:
minéraux qui, par leur aspect, évoquent la pluie ou les phénomènes météorologiques qui y sont liés : quartz translucide « génie de l’arc en ciel », obsidienne, concrétions de magnésie de Nouvelle Calédonie…
I'm looking for the correct current term in English. Thank you in advance.
1. concretions of magnesia from New Caledonia
2. magnesian concretions from New Caledonia
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 32 mins (2010-06-03 15:29:03 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Susan - not many refs out there, I agree. Here goes:
1. concretions of magnesia = 4 Google results.
2. magnesian concretions = 8 Google results.
Sorry that I could be of no more help. Good luck with the rest of your translation. Chris.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 51 mins (2010-06-03 15:48:49 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Susan - I believe that there are not very many results for this term ("concrétions de magnésie"), because it is a highly specialised and slightly uncommon term.
The modern name for magnesia is periclase (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periclase). But as Chris suggested, magnésie could be a typo for magnésite, magnesite in English. I'd say this is the more plausible option: polished magnesite was (and is) used as a gemstone bead, either as found in nature or polished afterwards.
(A word of caution regarding your specimen image: one mineral can have many different appearances.)
for your input. As I mentioned to Chris, I have now seen a picture of the object in question, it is a lumpy rock looking like a cloud. Not translucent, no rainbow effects. I have no knowledge of geology but it looks like a fairly porous volcanic rock - could that be right? I can't post the picture I'm afraid. It is part of a museum exhibit, I cannot risk an incorrect description. I had imagined there might have been a more common name. Thank you all wholeheartedly for sharing your thoughts on this.
does this get us any closer? The concretions referred to are manganese, not magnesium, but it does appear from the paper that New Caledonia is rich in magnesium carbonate, which is a crystalline material capable of refracting light to produce the characteristic rainbow colours mentioned in the text.
It is possible that, in this context, "magnésie" refers to the crystalline form of magnesium carbonate. The more usual meaning of magnesia is of course the oxide, ie MgO, but my basic geology suggests to me that this mineral is too soft to form concretions, and also liable to evolve into the hydroxide under the action of water. See ref. below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium for the various compounds of Mg.
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Answers
8 mins confidence:
concretions of magnesia / magnesian concretions from New Caledonia
Explanation: Two options:
1. concretions of magnesia from New Caledonia
2. magnesian concretions from New Caledonia
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 32 mins (2010-06-03 15:29:03 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Susan - not many refs out there, I agree. Here goes:
1. concretions of magnesia = 4 Google results.
2. magnesian concretions = 8 Google results.
Sorry that I could be of no more help. Good luck with the rest of your translation. Chris.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 51 mins (2010-06-03 15:48:49 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Susan - I believe that there are not very many results for this term ("concrétions de magnésie"), because it is a highly specialised and slightly uncommon term.
Chris Hall United Kingdom Local time: 17:06 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks Chris. Still no feedback on this, I'm still wondering about "periclase"... Thank you again.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you for your prompt answer! I can't find any web references to fit my context though.
Asker: Thanks Chris, actually I've just found a picture of the thing in question, it's a lumpy looking rock that looks like a cloud.
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +1
