May 9 2013
Navajoite is named after the Navjo Indian Nation, on whose reservation the mineral was first found. It was discovered in the year 1954.
Properties of Navajoite
The key physical properties of Navajoite are as below:
- Cell Data
- Space group: C2/m
- a = 34.94(2)
- b=3.597(2)
- c=11.79(1)
- Z = [2]
- Crystal Data
- Monoclinic, pseudo-orthorhombic
- Point group: 2/m
- Crystals – as fibrous cross-vein fillings, to 3 mm, as coatings around pebbles and impregnations of sandstone and shale.
- X-ray powder pattern: Monument No: 2 mine, Arizona, USA. Exhibits preferred orientation. 11.79 (100), 3.41 (20), 3.18 (8), 17.38 (7), 5.79 (6), 1.992 (4), 10.54 (3)
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
| V2O5 |
71.68 |
| V2O4 |
3.08 |
| SiO2 |
1.20 |
| Fe2O3 |
3.58 |
| CaO |
0.22 |
| H2O |
20.30 |
- Optical Properties
- Semitransparent
- Optical class- Biaxial
- Lustre – Adamantine to waxy
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density)= 2.62 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of Navajoite = 2.66 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PENavajoite = 8.16 barns/electron
U=PENavajoite x ρelectron density= 21.35 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.001
Boson index = 0.99 |
Radioactivity
|
GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Navajoite is not radioactive |
How to Identify Navajoite
Navajoite is a dark brown colored mineral having an adamantine to silky lustre. Its tenacity is sectile and its hardness is less than 2 (between that of talc and gypsum).
Global Distribution
Navajoite is widely distributed in the following locations:
- USA – from Monument 2 Mine, Arizona; Garland Co, Arkansas; Mesa Co, Colarado; San Juan Co, and Paradox Valley Utah
- China – from Zhenyuan Co, Guizhou Province
Occurrence of Navajoite and Useful Mineral Association
Navajoite occurs in the highly oxidized portion of a Colorado Plateau type U-V Deposit, in a stream channel filled with conglomeratic and silty sandstone. It is commonly associated with minerals such as corvusite, tyuamunite, hewettite, limonite, steigerite and rauvite.
References