Hyperfine Interact (2009) 190:115–119 DOI 10.1007/s10751-009-9972-1 Mössbauer studies of raw materials from Misti volcano of Arequipa (Peru) for its potential application in the ceramic field Angel Bustamante · Francisco Capel · Flora Barba · Pío Callejas · Rivalino Guzmán · Alejandro Trujillo Published online: 3 April 2009 © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract We would like to introduce, the study of two different colour “sillar” samples: white and pink, belonging to the Añashuayco quarry in the Arequipa Region (Peru). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates the presence of several mineralogical phases, such as feldpars and biotite for the both white and pink “sillar” whereas cristobalite and quartz are detected only in the first sample and amorphous phase in the second one. In room temperature, Mössbauer spectroscopy, the presence of hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) was detected as the main phase for both samples, this was not detected in the XRD measurements. Moreover, corresponding doublets in the Mössbauer spectra indicate the presence of iron in the aluminium-silicate minerals. The rates Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ are 0.0752 and 0.0526 to the white and pink samples respectively. The minerals composing the white tuff form a heterogeneous aggregate of uniform aspect. Mining of these materials generates a great amount of waste in the form of lumps of varying size and which are raw materials studied in the present work for potential application in the ceramic field. Keywords Mössbauer spectroscopy · DRX · Raw materials · Tuff pyroclastic A. Bustamante (B ) · A. Trujillo Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Apartado Postal 14-149, Lima 14, Lima, Peru e-mail: angelbd1@gmail.com F. Capel · F. Barba · P. Callejas Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio, Consejo Superior de investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), c/ Kelsen 5, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain F. Barba e-mail: flora@icv.csic.es R. Guzmán Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru