Cerite

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Cerite
Cerite.jpg
Cerite – Bastnas – Deposit Topotype
General
CategorySilicate mineral group
Formula
(repeating unit)
(Ce,La,Ca)
9
(Mg,Fe3+
)(SiO
4
)
6
(SiO
3
OH)(OH)
3
IMA symbol Crt [1]
Crystal system Trigonal
Crystal class Ditrigonal pyramidal (3m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space group R3c
Identification
ColorClove-brown with a reddish tinge; pale lavender-brown to colorless in thin fragments
Crystal habit Massive granular
Cleavage None
Fracture Uneven
Mohs scale hardness5 to 5.5
Luster Vitreous to resinous
Streak White to greyish white
Diaphaneity Subtranslucent to opaque
Specific gravity 4.7 to 4.86
Optical propertiesUniaxial (+)
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
3
OH)(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
2
O
3
and 30.04% La
2
O
3
. [3]

Contents

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]

See also

Related Research Articles

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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.

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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

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2021.43 . S2CID   235729616.
  2. Mineralienatlas
  3. 1 2 3 http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/ceritece.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy
  4. 1 2 http://webmineral.com/data/Cerite-(Ce).shtml Webmineral (Ce)
  5. http://www.mindat.org/min-931.html Mindat Cerite-(Ce)
  6. http://www.mindat.org/min-26408.html Mindat Cerite-(La)
  7. http://webmineral.com/data/Cerite-(La).shtml Webmineral (La)