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| Kurchatovite
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Discovered
in 1965; IMA
status:
Valid (IMA Approved 1966)
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Chemistry
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Chemical
Formula: |
Ca(Mg,Mn2+,Fe2+)B2O5
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Calcium
Magnesium Manganese Iron Borate |
Molecular
Weight: |
178.34 gm
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Composition: |
Calcium |
22.47 % |
Ca |
31.44 % |
CaO |
|
Magnesium |
8.18 % |
Mg |
13.56 % |
MgO |
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Manganese |
9.24 % |
Mn |
11.93 % |
MnO |
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Iron |
3.13 % |
Fe |
4.03 % |
FeO |
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Boron |
12.12 % |
B |
39.04 % |
B2O3 |
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Oxygen |
44.86 % |
O |
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100.00 % |
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100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
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Classification
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Mineral
Classification: |
Borates
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Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
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5/H.01-30
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Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
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6.BA.10
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6 : BORATES
B : Diborates A : Neso-diborates with double triangles B2(O,OH)5; 2(2D); 2(2D) + OH, etc.
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Related
to: |
Dimorph of
Clinokurchatovite.
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Varieties: |
None
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Synonyms: |
ICSD 200803,
IMA1965-034, PDF 43-689
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Crystal
Data
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Crystallography:
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Orthorhombic - Disphenoidal
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Crystal
Habit:
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Granular,
to 4 mm.
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Twinning:
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None
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Physical
Properties
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Cleavage: |
One
perfect, parallel elongation; two others, imperfect.
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Fracture: |
n/a
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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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3.20 (g/cm3)
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Luminescence:
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Fluorescent;
bright violet under long wave UV light
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Radioactivity:
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Not
Radioactive
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Optical
Properties
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Color: |
Pale
gray
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Transparency: |
Semitransparent
to transparent |
Luster: |
Vitreous
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Refractive
Index: |
1.635
- 1.698 Biaxial ( - )
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Birefringence: |
0.063
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Dispersion: |
None |
Pleochroism: |
Slight; r > v |
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Occurances
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Geological
Setting: |
In
an iron-bearing skarn (Solongo deposit, Russia). |
Common
Associations: |
Clinokurchatovite,
Szaibélyite, Solongoite, Hexahydroborite, Calcite,
Chlorite, Vesuvianite, Garnet, Svabite, Magnetite, Sphalerite
(Solongo deposit, Russia). |
Common
Impurities: |
None
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Type
Locality: |
Solongo B deposit, Vitim Plateau, Buriatia Republic (Buryatia), Transbaikalia (Zabaykalye), Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia
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Year
Discovered: |
1965
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View
mineral photos: |
Kurchatovite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
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Unusual
Gem Categories
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Fluorescent Gems
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More
Information
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Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
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Kurchatovite
is a very rare borate mineral that was discovered in
1965 at the Solongo B deposit, Vitim Plateau, Buriatia Republic, Transbaikalia, Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia.
This is the only location for Kurchatovite. It is typically found in a matrix of white Dolomite
as light gray granular crystals to about 4 mm with vitreous luster and Mohs hardness of
about 4.5. Kurchatovite is a fluorescent mineral showing bright violet under long wave UV light.
Kurchatovite
was named to honor Igor Vasil’evich Kurchatov (1903–1960), Russian physicist, Institute of Nuclear Energy, Moscow, Russia.
Kurchatov was a Soviet nuclear physicist who was the director of the Soviet atomic bomb project
and is remembered as the "father of the Soviet atomic bomb" for his directorial role in the development of the Soviet nuclear program in a clandestine program during World War II.
Kurchatovite
distribution: in Russia, from the Solongo boron deposit,
Buryatia, and at the Novofrolovskoye copper deposit,
near Krasnoturinsk, Turinsk district, Northern Ural
Mountains.
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