Murun massif
(including Kedrovy massif)

The history of the Murun massif is surprisingly short. Because the Murun massif is located in a hard to reach area the deposit was only discovered after the second world war. In 1949 V.G. Ditmar conducted the first geological survey of the area in search for uranium. The Charoite was discovered but held for purple Cummingtonite. Allthough a small settlement, called Ditmar was erected, there was not much activity at Murun until the Sosnovka expedition of the late 50's During this expedition Rogov noted that Chaoite was not Cummingtonite, but it would take until 1974 before it became obvious that Charoite was a new mineral..

geology
The Murun massif is located on the Aldan Shield. In the atlas you can find it between the Charaa and Tokko river, south of Olekminsk. The Murun massif is of course famous for charoite. The Murun massif is (type) locality for a number of unusual minerals. This is caused by the very complex geology of the Murun massif.  Vastly simplyfied the Murun massif is a differatiated alkaline intrusion. But one look at it's minerals reveals that Murun is something different than the Khibiny massif.  Khibiny for instance consists mainly of  nepheline-syenite with only minor carbonatite. Intrusive rocks in Murun apart from nepheline syenite also contain shonkinite, augite syenite, synnerite, fergusonite, kalsilite syenite, jakutite, granite, alkaline granosyenite, selvsbergite and carbonatite.. There are also some extrusive rocks like alkaline basalts. Many of these rocks intruded after each other and all reacted in some way to previously formed rocks or existing  rocks forming metasomatic and metamorphic rocks like fenites, skarns and marble.  Besides that the whole intrusion was subject to hydrothermal alteration. The carbonatites are unique Sr-Ba carbonatites, which do not occur anywhere else in the world. The charoite bearing fenites are also unique and syenites contain rockforming Kalsilite, which is also unique.

Allthough the locality is generally known as 'Murun', the true topographical situation is more complex. There are four major outcrops of several kilometers in diameter. There is Bolshoi Murun,  Maly Murun, Dagaldyn and Kedrovy. Of these localities Maly Murun is the most important. There are numerous localities within the Maly Murun massif.  These localities include: Ashimovski, Dalny, Golsovy, Grosovy, Irkutsky, Jakutsky, Korenny, Magistralnye, Moskovsky, Novy I, Novy II, Ognevy I, Ognevy II, Podsnshnik, Prirechny, Ruslovy, Saloshnik, Severny, Stary, Studenchesky, Taborny, Tausonite-Gory, Tumanny, Verkhnedavanski, Vodorasdeln and Vostochnye. These locality names hardly ever make it onto the mineral labels.
Just south of Maly Murun is the Kedrovv massif.

mineralogy
Aegirine Agrellite Albite Anatase Ancylite-(Ce) Anilite Banalsite Barite Barytocalcite Barytolamprofyllite Batisite Benstonite Brookite Brucite Canasite Chalcocite Chalcopyrite Charoite Clinohumite Copper Covellite Dalyite Davanite Denisovite Digenite Diopside Djerfisherite Elpidite Epididymite Eudialyte Fedorite Ferri-Clinoferroholmquisite Frankamenite Froodite Galena Geikielite Idaite Ilmenite Kalsilite K-Batisite Kilchoanite Labuntsovite-Mn Lamprophyllite Lemmleinite-K Leucite Leucosphenite Loparite-(Ce) Lorenzenite Magnesio-Arfvedsonite Magnetite Microcline Miserite Monticellite Mosandrite Murunskite Muscovite Narsarsukite Neotocite Nepheline Odintsovite Paralstonite Pectolite Periclase Perlialite Phlogopite Pyrite Richterite Rosenbuschite Rutile Serandite Silver Sobolevskite Sperrylite Sphalerite Spinel Steacyite Steenstrupine-(Ce) Strontianite Taeniolite Tausonite Thalcusite Tinaksite Titanite Tokkoite Vishnevite Wadeite Witherite Wollastonite Xonotlite Yuksporite Zircon

Aegirine  Charoite	Agrellite	Ba-Lamprophyllite	Brookite	Canasite
Clinohumite	Fedorite	Frankamenite	Geikielite	Olekminskite
Miserite	Murunskite	Nephrite	Steacite	Tausonite
Tinaksite	Tokkoite	Vizhnevite

references

Charoit-der Schmuckstein aus Sibirien und sine seltenen Begeleitminerale, A.A. Konev et al, Lapis 4/93
Minerals of the Aldan Shield, M.A Litsarev et al, World of Stones 12/97, pp43-49
Charoite: a unique mineral from a unique occurrence, M.D. Evdokimov, World of Stones 7/95 pp3-11