Colemanite

For the community in California formerly named Colemanite, see Ryan, California.
Colemanite
General
Category Inoborates
Formula
(repeating unit)		 CaB3O4(OH)3·H2O
Strunz classification 06.CB.10
Crystal system Monoclinic - Prismatic
Space group Monoclinic 2/m
Unit cell a = 8.712(2) Å, b = 11.247(3) Å, c = 6.091(1) Å; β = 110.12°; Z = 4
Identification
Color Colorless, white, yellowish, grey
Crystal habit Massive granular to coarsely crystalline, most commonly nodular.
Cleavage [010] perfect, [001] distinct
Fracture Brittle uneven to subconchoidal
Mohs scale hardness 4.5
Luster Vitreous
Streak White
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent
Specific gravity 2.42
Optical properties Biaxial (+)
Refractive index nα = 1.586 nβ = 1.592 nγ = 1.614
Birefringence δ = 0.028
Fusibility 1.5
Diagnostic features Exfoliates on heating, produces a green flame
Other characteristics Bright pale yellow fluorescence, may phosphoresce pale green; pyroelectric and piezoelectric at very low temperature.
References [1][2][3][4]

Colemanite (CaB3O4(OH)3·H2O) is a borate mineral found in evaporite deposits of alkaline lacustrine environments. Colemanite is a secondary mineral that forms by alteration of borax and ulexite.[1]

It was first described in 1884 for an occurrence near Furnace Creek in Death Valley and was named after William Tell Coleman (1824–1893), owner of the mine Harmony Borax Works where it was first found.[2] At the time, Coleman had alternatively proposed the name "smithite" instead after his business associate Francis Marion Smith.[5]

Uses

Colemanite is an important ore of boron, and was the most important boron ore until the discovery of kernite in 1926. It has many industrial uses, like the manufacturing of heat resistant glass.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr.; 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, 20th ed., p. 347 ISBN 0-471-80580-7
  2. 1 2 http://www.mindat.org/min-1108.html Mindat
  3. ↑ http://webmineral.com/data/Colemanite.shtml Webmineral
  4. ↑ http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/colemanite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy
  5. ↑ Hildebrand, GH. (1982) Borax Pioneer: Francis Marion Smith. San Diego: Howell-North Books. p 31 ISBN 0-8310-7148-6
  6. ↑ "Nitrates". Simon & Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals. Simon & Schuster. 1977. p. entry 111. ISBN 978-0-671-24417-0.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colemanite.

 Spencer, Leonard James (1911). "Colemanite". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 665. 


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