Burbankite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Burbankite was named in 1955 for Wilbur Sweet Burbank (1898-1975) a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Discovered in 1955;  IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

(Na,Ca)₃(Sr,Ba,Ce)₃(CO₃)₅

Sodium Calcium Strontium Barium Cerium Carbonate

Molecular Weight:

706.03 gm

Composition:

Barium

17.51 %

Ba

19.55 %

BaO

Sodium

7.16 %

Na

9.66 %

Na₂O

Strontium

22.34 %

Sr

26.42 %

SrO

Calcium

4.54 %

Ca

6.35 %

CaO

Ceruim

5.95 %

Ce

6.97 %

Ce₂O₃

Carbon

8.51 %

C

31.17 %

CO₂

Oxygen

33.99 %

O

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Carbonates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

5/B.05-100

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

5.AC.30

5 : CARBONATES (NITRATES)
A : Carbonates without additional anions, without H₂O
C : Alkali and alkali-earth carbonates

Related to:

Burbankite Group.

Members of Group:

Burbankite Group: Burbankite, Khanneshite, Calcioburbankite, Sanromanite

Varieties:

Strontioburbankite

Synonyms:

None

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Hexagonal - Dihexagonal Dipyramidal

Crystal Habit:

Long dihexagonal prismatic crystals with shallow pyramidal terminations, striated parallel [001], may be in fibrous spherical aggregates; anhedral granular, to 5 cm.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

Distinct to Imperfect on {1010}

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

3.5 - 4.0

Density:

3.50 - 3.58 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

Fluorescent

Radioactivity:

Mild; GRapi = 5,871.73 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Other:

Piezoelectric

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless, Grayish Yellow, pale Yellow, Orange, Pink, pale Greenish

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Vitreous

Refractive Index:

1.616 - 1.623  Uniaxial ( - )

Birefringence:

0.0120

Dispersion:

0.013

Pleochroism:

e = colorless, w = colorless

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Typically an abundant accessory mineral in carbonatites; in an intrusive alkalic gabbro-syenite complex; may be authigenic.

Common Associations:

Ancylite, Calkinsite, Lanthanite, Calcite, Biotite, Barite (Big Sandy Creek, Montana, USA); Ancylite, Carbocernaite, Calcite (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada).

Common Impurities:

None

Type Locality:

Bearpaw Mts, Hill County, Montana, USA

Year Discovered:

1955

View mineral photos:

Burbankite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Burbankite is a very rare mineral that comes from one of the four most prolific mineral localities in the world: Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. Burbankite crystals are quite small and faceted gems are extremely rare. Burbankite has some unusual chemistry as it is enriched with rare elements such as Strontium (Sr), Barium (Ba) and Cerium (Ce). It is also mildly radioactive as defined in 49 CFR 173.403 (greater than 70 Bq / gram).

The only source of gem quality crystals is the Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Rouville County, Québec, Canada. Other non-gem sources are in the USA, from vermiculite prospects at the head of Big Sandy Creek, Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, about 40 km east of Box Elder, Hill County, Montana; in the Green River Formation, Utah and Wyoming. In Canada, at Mont Saint-Hilaire, and in the Miron quarry, Montreal, Quebec; at Chipman Lake, Ontario. In the Qaqarssuk carbonatite, near Sukkertoppen, and the Grønnedal-Ika complex, Greenland. Found in Brazil, at Po¸cos de Caldas, Minas Gerais. In Russia, on the Kola Peninsula, from the Vuoriyarvi carbonatite and Khibiny massifs, large crystals; at the Ozernyi carbonatite, southeastern Sakha; Arbarastakh carbonatite, Aldan; and the Nizhnesayanskii carbonatite, east Sayan; and in the Vishnevogorsk complex, Vishnevy-Ilmen Mountains, Southern Ural Mountains. From the Tajno massif carbonatites, 70 km north of Bialystok, Poland. In the Zeerust district, Transvaal, South Africa.
 

  
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