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The xenotime group is a grouping of minerals containing anhydrous phosphates and vanadates.
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The xenotime group is a grouping of minerals containing anhydrous phosphates and vanadates.
Members of the xenotime group include: [1]
Monazite is a primarily reddish-brown phosphate mineral that contains rare-earth elements. Due to variability in composition, monazite is considered a group of minerals. The most common species of the group is monazite-(Ce), that is, the cerium-dominant member of the group. It occurs usually in small isolated crystals. It has a hardness of 5.0 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness and is relatively dense, about 4.6 to 5.7 g/cm3. There are five different most common species of monazite, depending on the relative amounts of the rare earth elements in the mineral:
Vanadinite is a mineral belonging to the apatite group of phosphates, with the chemical formula Pb5(VO4)3Cl. It is one of the main industrial ores of the metal vanadium and a minor source of lead. A dense, brittle mineral, it is usually found in the form of red hexagonal crystals. It is an uncommon mineral, formed by the oxidation of lead ore deposits such as galena. First discovered in 1801 in Mexico, vanadinite deposits have since been unearthed in South America, Europe, Africa, and North America.
Xenotime is a rare-earth phosphate mineral, the major component of which is yttrium orthophosphate (YPO4). It forms a solid solution series with chernovite-(Y) (YAsO4) and therefore may contain trace impurities of arsenic, as well as silicon dioxide and calcium. The rare-earth elements dysprosium, erbium, terbium and ytterbium, as well as metal elements such as thorium and uranium (all replacing yttrium) are the expressive secondary components of xenotime. Due to uranium and thorium impurities, some xenotime specimens may be weakly to strongly radioactive. Lithiophyllite, monazite and purpurite are sometimes grouped with xenotime in the informal "anhydrous phosphates" group. Xenotime is used chiefly as a source of yttrium and heavy lanthanide metals (dysprosium, ytterbium, erbium and gadolinium). Occasionally, gemstones are also cut from the finest xenotime crystals.
Phosphate minerals are minerals that contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate anion, sometimes with arsenate and vanadate substitutions, along with chloride (Cl−), fluoride (F−), and hydroxide (OH−) anions, that also fit into the crystal structure.
Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion, CO2−
3.
Arsenate minerals usually refer to the naturally occurring orthoarsenates, possessing the (AsO4)3− anion group and, more rarely, other arsenates with anions like AsO3(OH)2− (also written HAsO42−) (example: pharmacolite Ca(AsO3OH).2H2O) or (very rarely) [AsO2(OH)2]− (example: andyrobertsite). Arsenite minerals are much less common. Both the Dana and the Strunz mineral classifications place the arsenates in with the phosphate minerals.
The oxide mineral class includes those minerals in which the oxide anion (O2−) is bonded to one or more metal alloys. The hydroxide-bearing minerals are typically included in the oxide class. Minerals with complex anion groups such as the silicates, sulfates, carbonates and phosphates are classed separately.
Halide minerals are those minerals with a dominant halide anion. Complex halide minerals may also have polyatomic anions.
Wakefieldite is an uncommon rare-earth element vanadate mineral. There are four main types described of wakefieldite- wakefieldite-(La), wakefieldite-(Ce), wakefieldite-(Nd), and wakefieldite-(Y), depending upon the dominant rare-earth metal ion present. Wakefieldite has a Mohs hardness ranging from 4 to 5. Wakefieldite forms crystals of tetragonal structure. In terms of crystal structure, it is the vanadate analog of the rare-earth phosphate mineral xenotime. Unlike xenotime, it is more favorable for wakefieldite to contain the lighter rare-earth elements over the heavier ones. Due to the lanthanide contraction, the heavier rare earths have smaller ionic radii than the lighter ones. When the phosphate anion is replaced by the larger vanadate anion, the tetragonal crystal system preferentially accommodates the larger light rare-earth elements.
Wakefieldite-(Ce) is the cerium analogue of the uncommon rare-earth element vanadate mineral Wakefieldite. It is a member of the xenotime group.
Wakefieldite-(La) is the lanthanum analogue of the uncommon rare-earth element vanadate mineral Wakefieldite. It is a member of the xenotime group.
Wakefieldite-(Nd) is the neodymium analogue of the uncommon rare-earth element vanadate mineral wakefieldite. It is a member of the xenotime group.
This list gives an overview of the classification of non-silicate minerals and includes mostly International Mineralogical Association (IMA) recognized minerals and its groupings. This list complements the List of minerals recognized by the International Mineralogical Association series of articles and List of minerals. Rocks, ores, mineral mixtures, not IMA approved minerals, not named minerals are mostly excluded. Mostly major groups only, or groupings used by New Dana Classification and Mindat.
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.
Borate phosphates are mixed anion compounds containing separate borate and phosphate anions. They are distinct from the borophosphates where the borate is linked to a phosphate via a common oxygen atom. The borate phosphates have a higher ratio of cations to number of borates and phosphates, as compared to the borophosphates.
Chernovite-(Y) is a mineral. It was first described in 1967 as Chernovite, named after the Russian geologist Aleksandr A. Chernov. The suffix -(Y) was added in 1987. It is a colourless to pale yellow mineral with a vitreous luster. It has a tetragonal crystalline structure, and has the chemical makeup of Y(AsO₄), which is yttrium, arsenic, and oxygen, at a 1:1:4 ratio. It has a specific gravity of 4.866g/cm3.
Neodymium(III) phosphate is an inorganic compound, with the chemical formula of NdPO4.
Europium(III) phosphate is one of the phosphates of europium, with the chemical formula of EuPO4. Other phosphates include europium(II) phosphate (Eu3(PO4)2) and europium(II,III) phosphate (Eu3Eu(PO4)3).
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