Oct 14 2013
Bystromite was named after Dr. Anders Bystrom (1916–1956), a Swedish crystal chemist, who made a structural analysis of the synthetic compound.
Properties of Bystromite
The following are the key properties of bystromite:
- Cell Data
- Space group: P42/mnm
- a = 4.68
- c = 9.21
- Z = 2
- Crystal Data
- Tetragonal.
- Point group: 4/m2/m2/m.
- In porous massive aggregates of submicroscopic particles.
- Few grains show square or rectangular outlines under the electron microscope.
- X-ray powder pattern: 3.32 (100), 2.57 (90), 1.73 (90), 4.19 (70), 2.34 (50), 4.63 (40), 2.96 (40).
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
| Sb2O5 |
89.05 |
90.37 |
| MgO |
6.65 |
7.43 |
| H2O+ |
2.60 |
2.20 |
| CaO |
1.44 |
- |
| insol. |
0.25 |
- |
| H2O- |
0.17 |
- |
| Al2O3 |
0.08 |
- |
| Fe2O3 |
0.03 |
- |
| Total |
100.27 |
[100.00] |
- Optical Properties
- Optical class: Uniaxial
- n = 1.855–1.915
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density) = 5.08 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of bystromite = 5.70 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEBystromite = 221.22 barns/electron
U=PEBystromite x ρ electron density= 1,122.98 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.0068075007
Boson index = 0.9931924993 |
|
Radioactivity
|
Bystromite is not radioactive.
|
How to Identify Bystromite
Bystromite can be identified in the field by its blue color. The density of bystromite is 5.7 g/cm3 with a hardness of 7 – approximate to quartz.
Global Distribution
Bystromite is distributed mainly in the La Fortuna and San Jose mines, El Antimonio, 27 km southwest of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.
Occurrence of Bystromite and Useful Mineral Association
Bystromite occurs in quartz veins in an oxidized antimony deposit. It is often associated with minerals such as stibiconite and quartz.
References