Samples in the eutectic composition were obtained with the piston and
anvil technique and the crystallization towards a metastable phase was
observed upon annealing at room temperature. Small amounts of Sn were
added to the binary MgGa in order to analyze its influence on the gla
ss forming ability. Cast and rapid quenched ternary samples were studi
ed employing X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy and electron pr
obe microanalysis. The solubility of the third element was analyzed in
the equilibrium phases Mg5Ga2, Mg2Ga and Mg2Sn. As far as we know, th
ese are the first contributions to the knowledge of the MgGaSn system.