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Samarskite-(Y)  
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Samarskite

  
Samarskite is named for Colonel Vasilii Yefrafovich von Samarski-Bykhovets (1803-1870), Chief of Staff of the Russian Corps of Mining Engineers. The -(Y) is for the Yttrium content.

Discovered in 1847;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

 

Chemistry

 

 

Chemical Formula:

(Y,Fe3+,U)(Nb,Ta)O4

 

Yttrium Cerium Uranium Iron Niobium Tantalum Titanium Oxide

Molecular Weight:

299.85 gm

Composition:

La,Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm

14.41 %

RE

16.81 %

REE2O3

 

Yttrium

5.93 %

Y

7.53 %

Y2O3

 

Uranium

15.88 %

U

18.01 %

UO2

 

Tantalum

12.07 %

Ta

14.74 %

Ta2O5

 

Niobium

24.79 %

Nb

35.46 %

Nb2O5

 

Iron

5.59 %

Fe

7.99 %

Fe2O3

 

Oxygen

21.34 %

O

 

 

 

 

100.00 %

 

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

 

 

Classification

   

   

Mineral Classification:

Oxides

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

4/D.19-60

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

4.DB.25

 

4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates)
D : Metal: Oxygen = 1:2 and similar
B : With medium-sized cations; chains of edge-sharing octahedra

Related to:

Samarskite Group. The Y analogue of Samarskite-(Yb).

Varieties:

Titanian Samarskite-(Y), Vietinghofite

Synonyms:

Adelfolite, Adelpholite, Ampangabéite, Eytlandite, Hydroeuxenite, Hydrosamarskite, Nuevite, Samarskite, Uranoniobit (of Rose), Uranotantal

 

 

Crystal Data

   

   

Crystallography:

Orthorhombic - Dipyramidal (may be metamict - a mineral originally crystalline, eventually amorphous due to radiation damage)

Crystal Habit:

Crystals, typically rough, elongated || [001], to 12 cm, pyramidal terminations, cross-sections rectangular, flattened on {100} or {010}; commonly granular, massive.

Twinning:

None

 

 

Physical Properties

   

 

Cleavage:

{010} Indistinct

Fracture:

Concoidal to small Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

5.0 - 6.0; (VHN = 736–897)

Density:

5.00 - 5.69 (g/cm3)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Very Strong; GRapi = 1,202,300.20 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Health Warning:

Contains uranium - always wash hands after handling. Avoid inhaling dust when handling or breaking. Never lick or ingest. Avoid prolonged exposure in proximity of the body. Store away from inhabited areas.

 

 

Optical Properties

   

   

Color:

Velvet-black, may have a Brownish tint, Brown to Yellowish Brown due to alteration; light to dark Brown in transmitted light

Transparency:

Opaque, Transparent in thin fragments

Luster:

Vitreous, Resinous, Sub-Metallic, externally Dull

Refractive Index:

n = 2.1 - 2.2  Isotropic

Birefringence:

0.000; Isotropic minerals have no birefringence

 

 

Occurances

   

   

Geological Setting:

   

Common Associations:

Columbite, Zircon, Monazite, Uraninite, Aeschynite, Magnetite, Albite, Topaz, Beryl, Garnet, Muscovite, Biotite

Type Locality:

Blyumovskaya Pit (Blum Pit; Pit No. 50), Ilmen Natural Reserve, Ilmen Mts, Chelyabinsk Oblast', Southern Urals, Urals Region, Russia

Year Discovered:

1847

View mineral photos:

Samarskite Mineral Photos and Locations

 

 

More Information

   

   

 

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

 

 


Samarskite-(Y) is one of several Rare Earth Oxides. Other rare earth oxides such as
Fergusonite and Euxenite-(Y) have very similar properties to Samarskite-(Y) and are often associated with each other. Samarskite-(Y) is a radioactive due to its uranium and cerium content and should be handled and stored carefully - human exposure should be very limited!

The few localities for analyzed material include: at Miass, Ilmen Mountains, Southern Ural Mountains, Russia. From the Ånneröd, Iveland, and Setesdal districts, Norway. In the USA, at Glastonbury, Hartford County, Connecticut; in the Mitchell pegmatite, Bedford County, Virginia; around Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, North Carolina; near Nuevo, Riverside County, California; at the Addey claims, along Texas Creek, Fremont County, Colorado; and in the New Year’s Eve mine, Sierrita Mountains, Pima County, Arizona. At Divéina de Uba, near Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In Madagascar, from Ambatofotsikely, Antsirabe, Ampangab, and elsewhere. At Kivu, Kivu Province, Congo (Zaire). In Japan, especially in the Ishikawa district, Fukushima Prefecture. Many other localities are known.
 

  
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