Cerianite-(Ce) | |
---|---|
General | |
Category | Oxide |
Formula (repeating unit) | (Ce,Th)O 2 |
IMA symbol | Cei-Ce [1] |
Crystal system | Isometric |
Crystal class | Hexoctahedral (m3m) H-M symbol: (4/m 3 2/m) |
Space group | Fm3m |
Unit cell | a = 5.42 Å; Z = 4 |
Identification | |
Color | Dark greenish amber-yellow, yellow, buff |
Crystal habit | octahedra; earthy, massive |
Diaphaneity | Translucent or transparent |
Density | 7.20 (synth. material, calc.; approximated) |
Other characteristics | Radioactive |
References | [2] [3] [4] |
Cerianite-(Ce) is a relatively rare oxide mineral, belonging to uraninite group with the formula (Ce,Th)O
2. [4] [5] It is one of a few currently known minerals containing essential tetravalent cerium, the other examples being stetindite and dyrnaesite-(La). [6] [7]
Cerianite-(Ce) is associated with alkaline rocks, mostly nepheline syenites. [3] It may be found in carbonatites. [4] Cerianite-(Ce) associates with minerals of the apatite group, bastnäsite-group minerals, calcite, feldspar, "fluocerite", "hydromica", ilmenite, nepheline, magnetite, "törnebohmite" and tremolite. [3] It is the most simple cerium mineral known. [4]
Beside thorium cerianite-(Ce) may contain trace niobium, yttrium, lanthanum, ytterbium, zirconium and tantalum. [3]
For details on crystal structure see cerium(IV) oxide. Both ceria and thoria have a fluorite structure.
Euxenite, or euxenite-(Y), is a brownish black mineral with a metallic luster.
Gadolinite, sometimes known as ytterbite, is a silicate mineral consisting principally of the silicates of cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, yttrium, beryllium, and iron with the formula (Ce,La,Nd,Y)2FeBe2Si2O10. It is called gadolinite-(Ce) or gadolinite-(Y), depending on the prominent composing element. It may contain 35.5% yttria sub-group rare earths, 2.2% ceria earths, as much as to 11.6% BeO, and traces of thorium. It is found in Sweden, Norway, and the US.
Thorianite is a rare thorium oxide mineral, ThO2. It was originally described by Ananda Coomaraswamy in 1904 as uraninite, but recognized as a new species by Wyndham R. Dunstan. It was so named by Dunstan on account of its high percentage of thorium; it also contains the oxides of uranium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium. Helium is present, and the mineral is slightly less radioactive than pitchblende, but is harder to shield due to its high energy gamma rays. It is common in the alluvial gem-gravels of Sri Lanka, where it occurs mostly as water worn, small, heavy, black, cubic crystals. The largest crystals are usually near 1.5 cm. Larger crystals, up to 6 cm (2.4 in), have been reported from Madagascar.
Abenakiite-(Ce) is a mineral of sodium, cerium, neodymium, lanthanum, praseodymium, thorium, samarium, oxygen, sulfur, carbon, phosphorus, and silicon with a chemical formula Na26Ce6(SiO3)6(PO4)6(CO3)6(S4+O2)O. The silicate groups may be given as the cyclic Si6O18 grouping. The mineral is named after the Abenaki, an Algonquian Indian tribe of New England. Its Mohs scale rating is 4 to 5.
Aeschynite-(Ce) is a rare earth mineral of cerium, calcium, iron, thorium, titanium, niobium, oxygen, and hydrogen with chemical formula (Ce,Ca,Fe,Th)(Ti,Nb)2(O,OH)6. Its name comes from the Greek word αισχύνη ("aeschyne") for "shame" because early chemists had difficulty with separations of titanium from zirconium.
Cerite is a complex silicate mineral group containing cerium, formula (Ce,La,Ca)
9(Mg,Fe3+
)(SiO
4)
6(SiO
3OH)(OH)
3. The cerium and lanthanum content varies with the Ce rich species and the La rich species. Analysis of a sample from the Mountain Pass carbonatite gave 35.05% Ce
2O
3 and 30.04% La
2O
3.
Loparite-(Ce) is a granular, brittle oxide mineral of the perovskite class. It is black to dark grey and may appear grey to white in reflected light on polished thin section with reddish brown internal reflections. It has the chemical formula of (Ce,Na,Ca)(Ti,Nb)O3. Nioboloparite is a variation of Loparite-(Ce) containing niobium.
Ancylite is a group of hydrous strontium carbonate minerals containing cerium, lanthanum and minor amounts of other rare-earth elements. The chemical formula is Sr(Ce,La)(CO3)2(OH)·H2O with ancylite-Ce enriched in cerium and ancylite-La in lanthanum.
Alluaivite is a rare mineral of the eudialyte group, with complex formula written as Na19(Ca,Mn)6(Ti,Nb)3Si26O74Cl·2H2O. It is unique among the eudialyte group as the only titanosilicate (other representatives of the group are usually zirconosilicates). The two dual-nature minerals of the group, being both titano- and zirconosilicates, are labyrinthite and dualite. They both contain alluaivite module in their structures. Alluaivite is named after Mt. Alluaiv in Lovozero Tundry massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia, where it is found in ultra-agpaitic, hyperalkaline pegmatites.
Zirsilite-(Ce) is a very rare mineral of the eudialyte group, with formula (Na,□)12(Ce,Na)3Ca6Mn3Zr3NbSi(Si9O27)2(Si3O9)2O(OH)3(CO3)·H2O. The original formula was extended to show the presence of cyclic silicate groups and the presence of silicon at the M4 site, according to the nomenclature of the eudialyte group.according to the nomenclature of eudialyte group. Zirsilite-(Ce) differs from carbokentbrooksite in cerium-dominance over sodium only. Both minerals are intimately associated. The only other currently known representative of the eudialyte group having rare earth elements (in particular cerium, as suggested by the "-Ce)" Levinson suffix in the name) in dominance is johnsenite-(Ce).
Ferrokentbrooksite is a moderately rare mineral of the eudialyte group, with formula Na15Ca6(Fe,Mn)3Zr3NbSi25O73(O,OH,H2O)3(Cl,F,OH)2. The original formula was extended form to show the presence of cyclic silicate groups and presence of silicon at the M4 site, according to the nomenclature of eudialyte group. As suggested by its name, it is the (ferrous) iron analogue of kentbrooksite. When compared to the latter, it is also chlorine-dominant instead of being fluorine-dominant. The original (holotype) material is also relatively enriched in rare earth elements, including cerium and yttrium.
Bijvoetite-(Y) is a very rare rare-earth and uranium mineral with the formula (Y,REE)8(UO2)16(CO3)16O8(OH)8·39H2O. When compared to the original description, the formula of bijvoetite-(Y) was changed in the course of crystal structure redefinition. Bijvoetite-(Y) is an example of natural salts containing both uranium and yttrium, the other examples being kamotoite-(Y) and sejkoraite-(Y). Bijvoetite-(Y) comes from Shinkolobwe deposit in Republic of Congo, which is famous for rare uranium minerals. The other interesting rare-earth-bearing uranium mineral, associated with bijvoetite-(Y), is lepersonnite-(Gd).
Florencite-(Sm) is a very rare mineral of the plumbogummite group (alunite supergroup) with simplified formula SmAl3(PO4)2(OH)6. Samarium in florencite-(Sm) is substituted by other rare earth elements, mostly neodymium. It does not form separate crystals, but is found as zones in florencite-(Ce), which is cerium-dominant member of the plumbogummite group. Florencite-(Sm) is also a samarium-analogue of florencite-(La) (lanthanum-dominant) and waylandite (bismuth-dominant), both being aluminium-rich minerals.
Vasilseverginite is a very rare arsenate-sulfate mineral with formula Cu9O4(AsO4)2(SO4)2. Its structure is of a new type. It possesses a typical feature of many minerals of its type locality, the Tolbachik volcano, namely being a salt with oxide anions. However, it is the first Tolbachik copper oxysalt that is both arsenate and sulfate. Vasilseverginite is monoclinic, with space group P21/n.
Anzaite-(Ce) is a rare-earth element (REE) oxide mineral with the formula Ce4Fe2+Ti6O18(OH)2. An example of chemically related mineral is lucasite-(Ce), although it contains no iron. Cerium in anzaite-(Ce) is mainly substituted by neodymium, lanthanum, calcium and praseodymium. Titanium is substituted by niobium. Trace elements include thorium. The mineral is monoclinic, space group C2/m. Anzaite-(Ce) is hydrothermal mineral found in a carbonatite from the mineralogically prolific Kola Peninsula. The mineral name honors Anatoly N. Zaitsev, who is known for studies of carbonatites and REE.
Dyrnaesite-(La) is a rare-earth phosphate mineral with the formula Na
8Ce4+
(La,REE)
2(PO
4)
6. Dyrnaesite-(La) is related to vitusite-(Ce), another rare-earth phosphate mineral. It comes from lujavrite, a type of alkaline syenite rock, of South Greenland. Dyrnaesite-(La) is one of few known minerals with essential tetravalent cerium, the other two being cerianite-(Ce) and stetindite.
Ekplexite is a unique sulfide-hydroxide niobium-rich mineral with the formula (Nb,Mo)S2•(Mg1-xAlx)(OH)2+x. It is unique because niobium is usually found in oxide or, eventually, silicate minerals. Ekplexite is a case in which chalcophile behaviour of niobium is shown, which means niobium present in a sulfide mineral. The unique combination of elements in ekplexite has to do with its name, which comes from a Greek world on "surprise". The other example of chalcophile behaviour of niobium is edgarite, FeNb3S6, and both minerals were found in the same environment, which is a fenitic rock of Mt. Kaskasnyunchorr, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Analysis of the same rock has revealed the presence of two analogues of ekplexite, kaskasite (molybdenum-analogue) and manganokaskasite (molybdenum- and manganese-analogue). All three minerals belong to the valleriite group, and crystallize in the trigonal system with similar possible space groups.
Meisserite is a very rare uranium mineral with the formula Na5(UO2)(SO4)3(SO3OH)(H2O). It is interesting in being a natural uranyl salt with hydrosulfate (hydroxysulfate) anion, a feature shared with belakovskiite. Other chemically related minerals include fermiite, oppenheimerite, natrozippeite and plášilite. Most of these uranyl sulfate minerals was originally found in the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA. The mineral is named after Swiss mineralogist Nicolas Meisser.
Parisite-(La) is mineral discovered by Daniel Atencio of the University of São Paulo and colleagues in the Mula claim, Bahia, Brazil. Parisite-(La) is the lanthanum analog of parisite-(Ce), which has the same structure, but with cerium substituted for lanthanum. Parisite-(La) is chemically similar to synchysite-(La).
Britholite-(Ce) is a rare radioactive mineral with the chemical formula (Ce,Ca)5(SiO4)3OH. It comes in a variety of different colors. Its type locality is Naujakasik (Naajakasik), Tunulliarfik Fjord, Ilímaussaq complex, Narsaq, Kujalleq, Greenland.