Cerite | |
---|---|
General | |
Category | Silicate mineral group |
Formula (repeating unit) | (Ce,La,Ca) 9(Mg,Fe3+ )(SiO 4) 6(SiO 3OH)(OH) 3 |
IMA symbol | Crt [1] |
Crystal system | Trigonal |
Crystal class | Ditrigonal pyramidal (3m) (same H-M symbol) |
Space group | R3c |
Identification | |
Color | Clove-brown with a reddish tinge; pale lavender-brown to colorless in thin fragments |
Crystal habit | Massive granular |
Cleavage | None |
Fracture | Uneven |
Mohs scale hardness | 5 to 5.5 |
Luster | Vitreous to resinous |
Streak | White to greyish white |
Diaphaneity | Subtranslucent to opaque |
Specific gravity | 4.7 to 4.86 |
Optical properties | Uniaxial (+) |
Refractive index | nω = 1.806 – 1.810 nε = 1.810 – 1.820 |
Birefringence | δ = 0.010 |
References | [2] [3] [4] |
Cerite is a complex silicate mineral group containing cerium, formula (Ce,La,Ca)
9(Mg,Fe 3+
)(Si O
4)
6(SiO
3OH)(OH)
3. [3] The cerium and lanthanum content varies with the Ce rich species (cerite-(Ce)) and the La rich species (cerite-(La)). [5] [6] Analysis of a sample from the Mountain Pass carbonatite gave 35.05% Ce
2O
3 and 30.04% La
2O
3. [3]
Cerite was first described in 1803 for an occurrence in Bastnäs in Västmanland, Sweden. [4] The lanthanum rich species, cerite-(La) was first described for an occurrence in the Khibina massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia in 2002. [7]
Euxenite, or euxenite-(Y), is a brownish black mineral with a metallic luster.
Zinkenite is a steel-gray metallic sulfosalt mineral composed of lead antimony sulfide Pb9Sb22S42. Zinkenite occurs as acicular needle-like crystals.
Tephroite is the manganese endmember of the olivine group of nesosilicate minerals with the formula Mn2SiO4. A solid solution series exists between tephroite and its analogues, the group endmembers fayalite and forsterite. Divalent iron or magnesium may readily replace manganese in the olivine crystal structure.
Dumortierite is a fibrous variably colored aluminium boro-silicate mineral, Al7BO3(SiO4)3O3. Dumortierite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system typically forming fibrous aggregates of slender prismatic crystals. The crystals are vitreous and vary in color from brown, blue, and green to more rare violet and pink. Substitution of iron and other tri-valent elements for aluminium result in the color variations. It has a Mohs hardness of 7 and a specific gravity of 3.3 to 3.4. Crystals show pleochroism from red to blue to violet. Dumortierite quartz is blue colored quartz containing abundant dumortierite inclusions.
Berborite is a beryllium borate mineral with the chemical formula Be2(BO3)(OH,F)·(H2O). It is colorless and leaves a white streak. Its crystals are hexagonal to pyramidal. It is transparent and has vitreous luster. It is not radioactive. Berborite is rated 3 on the Mohs Scale.
Titanowodginite is a mineral with the chemical formula MnTiTa2O8. Titanowodginite has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 and a vitreous luster. It is an iridescent dark brown to black crystal that commonly forms in a matrix of smoky quartz or white beryl in a complex zoned pegmatite.
Rhomboclase is an acidic iron sulfate mineral with a formula reported as H5Fe3+O2(SO4)2·2(H2O) or HFe(SO4)2·4(H2O). It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and typically occurs as tabular crystals with a rhombic outline. It occurs as transparent colorless, blue, green, yellow or grey crystals with a vitreous to pearly luster.
Spurrite is a white, yellow or light blue mineral with monoclinic crystals. Its chemical formula is Ca5(SiO4)2CO3.
Gedrite is a crystal belonging to the orthorhombic ferromagnesian subgroup of the amphibole supergroup of the double chain inosilicate minerals with the ideal chemical formula Mg2(Mg3Al2)(Si6Al2)O22(OH)2.
Schröckingerite is a radioactive yellow uranium-containing carbonate mineral, hydrated sodium calcium uranyl sulfate carbonate fluoride. Schröckingerite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system, occurring as globular clusters, and fluoresces yellow-green under ultraviolet light.
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.
Kegelite is a complex silicate mineral with formula Pb8Al4Si8O20(SO4)2(CO3)4(OH)8.
Kaersutite is a dark brown to black double chain calcic titanium bearing amphibole mineral with formula: NaCa2(Mg3Ti4+Al)(Si6Al2)O22(O)2.
Danalite is an iron beryllium silicate sulfide mineral with formula: Fe2+4Be3(SiO4)3S.
Fluellite is a mineral with the chemical formula Al2(PO4)F2(OH)•7H2O. The name is from its chemical composition, being a fluate of alumine (French).
Stillwellite-(Ce) is a rare-earth boro-silicate mineral with chemical formula (Ce,La,Ca)BSiO5.
Awaruite is a naturally occurring alloy of nickel and iron with a composition from Ni2Fe to Ni3Fe.
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. 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).
Mogovidite is a very rare mineral of the eudialyte group, with formula Na9(Ca,Na)6Ca6(Fe3+,Fe2+)2Zr3[]Si(Si9O27)2(Si3O9)2(CO3)(OH,H2O)4. The formula given is based on the original one but extended to show the presence of cyclic silicate groups. It is similar to feklichevite, differing from it in the presence of essential vacancies and carbonate group. Another specific feature is the dominance of ferric iron – a feature shared with other eudialyte-group members, including feklichevite, fengchengite, golyshevite and ikranite. Similarly to golyshevite, it is calcium-dominant, however on three sites: M(1), N(3) and N(4). It has a molecular mass of 3,066.24 gm.
Vigezzite is a variant of the mineral aeschynite containing calcium, cerium, niobium, tantalum, and titanium. It was first discovered near Orcesco, Valle Vigezzo, Provo Novara, Northern Italy, in cavities of an albitic rock. The crystals of Vigezzite are flat prismatic crystals up to 2-3 mm length of an orange-yellow color.The name Vigezzite was chosen to draw attention to the locality that has produced the first occurrence of a Ca-Nb-Ta-mineral with Nb dominance over Ta, crystallizing with the aeschynite structure. The ideal chemical formula for vigezzite is (Ca,Ce),(Nb,Ta,Ti)2O6