Oct 11 2013
Barentsite has been named to honor Willem Barents, who was a famous Dutch seafarer. The Barents Sea, northeast of Kola Peninsula was also named after him. This mineral alters superficially to a white powder in air.
Properties of Barentsite
The following are the key properties of barentsite:
- Cell Data
- Space Group : P1 or P1
- a=6.472(2)
- b=6.735(2)
- c=8.806(2)
- α=92.50(2)° ; β=97.33(2)°; γ= 113.32(2)°
- Z=1
- Crystal Data
- Triclinic, pseudohexagonal
- Point Group: 1 or 1
- Granular, to 5 mm
- X-ray Powder Pattern: 2.778 (100), 2.658 (100), 2.887 (84), 2.169 (70), 2.316 (50), 1.870 (42), 2.543 (30)
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
| CO2 |
31.45 |
34.79 |
| Al2O3 |
10.5 |
10.08 |
| Na2O |
44.1 |
42.87 |
| F |
14.0 |
15.02 |
| H2O |
3.59 |
3.56 |
| -O=F2 |
5.9 |
6.32 |
| Total |
97.74 |
100 |
- Optical Properties
- Transparent
- Color: colorless if fresh
- Luster: vitreous, pearly on cleavages, dull when altered
- Optical Class: Biaxial (-)
- Dispersion: r < v; weak
- α= 1.358(2); β= 1.479(2); γ= 1.530(2)
- 2V(meas)= 62°
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density) = 2.50 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of barentsite = 2.55 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEBarentsite = 0.86 barns/electron
U=PEBarentsite x ρ electron density= 2.14 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.0012272661
Boson index = 0.9987727339 |
| Radioactivity |
Barentsite is not radioactive |
How to Identify Barentsite
Barentsite is colorless when it is fresh and has a vitreous to pearly luster. It is brittle by nature with a hardness of 3. It alters superficially to a white powder in air and is decomposed by water.
Global Distribution
Barentsite is found in Mt. Restinyum, Khibiny massif in Kola Peninsula located in Russia.
Occurrence of Barentsite and Useful Mineral Association
Barentsite occurs rarely in hydrothermal veinlets in alkali pegmatites in a differentiated alkali massif. It is associated with shortite, villaumite, cryolite, neighborite, natrite, bonshtedtite and albite.
References