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| Bakerite
was named to honor Richard C. Baker, of Nutfield, Surrey,
England, Mining Director of the Pacific Coast Borax
Company, who discovered the mineral.
| Discovered
in 1903;
IMA
status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
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Chemistry
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Chemical
Formula: |
Ca4B4(BO4)(SiO4)3(OH)3
• H2O
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|
Hydrated
Calcium Boro-silicate Hydroxide |
Molecular
Weight: |
623.65 gm
|
Composition: |
Calcium |
25.71 % |
Ca |
35.97 % |
CaO |
|
Silicon |
13.51 % |
Si |
28.90 % |
SiO2 |
|
Boron |
8.67 % |
B |
27.91 % |
B2O3 |
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Hydrogen |
0.81 % |
H |
7.22 % |
H2O |
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Oxygen |
51.31 % |
O |
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|
|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
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Classification
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Mineral
Classification: |
Silicates
(Germanates)
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Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
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8/B.29-20
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Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
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9.AJ.20
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9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
A : Nesosilicates J : Nesosilicates with BO3 triangles and/or B[4], Be[4] tetrahedra, cornersharing with SiO4
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Related
to: |
Gadolinite-Datolite Group.
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Members
of Group: |
Gadolinite-Datolite Group:
Bakerite, Calciogadolinite-(Y), Calcybeborosilite-(Y),
Datolite, Gadolinite-(Ce), Gadolinite-(Y), Hingganite-(Ce),
Hingganite-(Y), Hingganite-(Yb), Homilite, Minasgeraisite-(Y)
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Varieties: |
None
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Synonyms: |
None
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Crystal
Data
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Crystallography:
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Monoclinic
- Prismatic
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Crystal
Habit:
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Rarely
as single crystals, to 0.2 mm, stout, rhombic prisms
having oblique terminations or as thin diamond-shaped
tablets. As botryoidal and drusy crusts and nodules;
most commonly as dense fine-grained aggregates or massive.
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Twinning:
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None
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Physical
Properties
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|
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Cleavage: |
None
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Fracture: |
Irregular/Uneven
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Tenacity:
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Brittle
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Moh's
Hardness: |
4.5
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Density:
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2.88 (g/cm3)
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Luminescence:
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None
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Radioactivity:
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Not
Radioactive
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Optical
Properties
|
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Color: |
Colorless
to white
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Transparency: |
Translucent to
Opaque from clay inclusions |
Luster: |
Vitreous
to Porcelaneous
|
Refractive
Index: |
1.624
- 1.654
Biaxial ( - )
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Birefringence: |
0.030
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Dispersion: |
Weak |
Pleochroism: |
None
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Occurances
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Geological
Setting: |
As
irregular veins in altered volcanic rock (Baker Canyon,
Death Valley, California, USA).
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Common
Associations: |
Natrolite,
Thomsonite (Baker Canyon, Death Valley, California,
USA); Danburite, Calcite, Stilbite, Datolite, Quartz
(Charcas, Mexico) |
Common
Impurities: |
None
|
Type
Locality: |
Corkscrew Canyon Mine
(Corkscrew Mine), Corkscrew Canyon, Black Mts, Furnace Creek District
(Furnace Creek Borate District), Death Valley National Park, Inyo Co.,
California, USA
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Year
Discovered: |
1903
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View
mineral photos: |
Bakerite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
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More
Information
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|
Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
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Bakerite is a rare boro-silicate mineral
that was discovered in Death Valley, California and is still only found in abundance there.
Bakerite is found there in altered volcanic rocks as nodules and veins.
Datolite and
Howlite,
which are also boro-silicates, form similar looking nodules, but Datolite is harder and Howlite is softer.
The structure of Bakerite is closely related to that of Datolite. Bakerite is
is a relatively soft mineral with a Mohs hardness of
only 4.5. It is usually translucent to opaque and often
very white with a vitreous
to porcelaneous
luster.
Distribution:
In the USA, in California, the mineral probably never
occurred at the type locality given as "16 miles
northeast of Daggett" which is Borate, 14 km east
of Yermo, San Bernardino County; it more likely was
from later authenticated localities in the Black Mountains,
west of Furnace Creek, Death Valley, Inyo County; also
in the Sterling Borax mine, Tick Canyon, Los Angeles
County. Found near Tory Hill, Bancroft, Ontario, Canada.
At Charcas, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. From Sivas, Turkey.
In Italy, from near Sestri Levante, Liguria.
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Bakerite
gems for sale:
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have not photographed our Bakerite gems yet. Please
check back soon.
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