Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities. Natron deposits are sometimes found in saline lake beds which arose in arid environments. Throughout history natron has had many practical applications that continue today in the wide range of modern uses of its constituent mineral components.
Halite, commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride (NaCl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow or gray depending on inclusion of other materials, impurities, and structural or isotopic abnormalities in the crystals. It commonly occurs with other evaporite deposit minerals such as several of the sulfates, halides, and borates. The name halite is derived from the Ancient Greek word for "salt", ἅλς (háls).
Sylvite, or sylvine, is potassium chloride (KCl) in natural mineral form. It forms crystals in the isometric system very similar to normal rock salt, halite (NaCl). The two are, in fact, isomorphous. Sylvite is colorless to white with shades of yellow and red due to inclusions. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 and a specific gravity of 1.99. It has a refractive index of 1.4903. Sylvite has a salty taste with a distinct bitterness.
Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) is a non-marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced the Solvay process used in most of the rest of the world for sodium carbonate production. Turkey is also a major producer.
Aphthitalite is a potassium sulfate mineral with the chemical formula: (K,Na)3Na(SO4)2.
Thénardite is an anhydrous sodium sulfate mineral, Na2SO4 which occurs in arid evaporite environments, specifically lakes and playas. It also occurs in dry caves and old mine workings as an efflorescence and as a crusty sublimate deposit around fumaroles. It occurs in volcanic caves on Mount Etna, Italy. It was first described in 1825 for an occurrence in the Espartinas Saltworks, Ciempozuelos, Madrid, Spain and was named for the French chemist, Louis Jacques Thénard (1777–1826).
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.
Hanksite is a sulfate mineral, distinguished as one of only a handful that contain both carbonate and sulfate ions (a sulfate carbonate). It has the chemical formula Na22K(SO4)9(CO3)2Cl.
Zircophyllite is a complex mineral, formula (K,Na)3(Mn,Fe)2+7(Zr,Ti,Nb)2Si8O24(OH,F)7. It crystallizes in the triclinic – pinacoidal crystal class as dark brown to black micaceous plates. It has perfect 001 cleavage, a Mohs hardness of 4 to 4.5 and a specific gravity of 3.34. Its indices of refraction are nα=1.708 nβ=1.738 nγ=1.747 and it has a 2V optical angle of 62°.
Mckelveyite-(Y) is a hydrated sodium, barium, yttrium, and uranium–containing carbonate mineral, with the chemical formula Ba3Na(Ca,U)Y(CO3)6·3H2O.
Chlorargyrite is the mineral form of silver chloride (AgCl). Chlorargyrite occurs as a secondary mineral phase in the oxidation of silver mineral deposits. It crystallizes in the isometric–hexoctahedral crystal class. Typically massive to columnar in occurrence it also has been found as colorless to variably yellow cubic crystals. The color changes to brown or purple on exposure to light. It is quite soft with a Mohs hardness of 1 to 2 and dense with a specific gravity of 5.55. It is also known as cerargyrite and, when weathered by desert air, as horn silver. Bromian chlorargyrite is also common. Chlorargyrite is water-insoluble.
Aliettite is a complex phyllosilicate mineral of the smectite group with a formula of (Ca0.2Mg6(Si,Al)8O20(OH)4·4H2O) or [Mg3Si4O10(OH)2](Ca0.5,Na)0.33(Al,Mg,Fe2+)2−3(Si,Al)4O10(OH)2·n(H2O).
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.
Searlesite is a sodium borosilicate mineral, with the chemical formula NaBSi2O5(OH)2. It was discovered in 1914 at Searles Lake, California, and was named to honor John W. Searles (16 November 1828 – 7 October 1897), California pioneer, who drilled the well that yielded the first known Searlesite.
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.
Stillwellite-(Ce) is a rare-earth boro-silicate mineral with chemical formula (Ce,La,Ca)BSiO5.
Dzhalindite is a rare indium hydroxide mineral discovered in Siberia. Its chemical formula is In(OH)3.
Frankamenite is the fluorine-dominate variation of the rare mineral canasite with a general formula of K3Na3Ca5(Si12O30)[F,(OH)]4·(H2O).
Bassanite is a calcium sulfate mineral with formula CaSO4·1/2H2O or 2CaSO4·H2O. In other words it has half a water molecule per CaSO4 unit, hence its synonym calcium sulfate hemihydrate.
The geology of North Macedonia includes the study of rocks dating to the Precambrian and a wide array of volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks formed in the last 539 million years.
