Gainesite Mineral Data

General Gainesite Information

Chemical Formula:

Na2Zr2Be(PO4)4•1-2(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 639.49 gm

Cesium 2.08 % Cs 2.20 % Cs₂O

Potassium 1.83 % K 2.21 % K₂O

Sodium 5.75 % Na 7.75 % Na₂O

Lithium 0.11 % Li 0.23 % Li₂O

Calcium 0.63 % Ca 0.88 % CaO

Zirconium 24.25 % Zr 32.76 % ZrO₂

Beryllium 0.85 % Be 2.35 % BeO

Iron 0.87 % Fe 1.12 % FeO

Phosphorus 19.37 % P 44.39 % P₂O₅

Hydrogen 0.47 % H 4.23 % H₂O

Oxygen 43.78 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 98.12 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Na_1.6K_0.3Cs_0.1Be_0.6Li_0.1Zr_1.7Fe²⁺_0.1Ca_0.1(PO₄)₄·1.5(H₂O)

Environment:

Accessory mineral in a granite pegmatite.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1983

Locality:

Nevel quarry, Newry, Oxford County, Maine, USA. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Richard Venable Gaines (1917-1999), American mineralogist, economic geologist, and mineral collector of Earlysville, Virginia, USA, for his interest in beryllium minerals.

Name Pronunciation:

Gainesite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 31199

PDF 35-604

Gainesite Image

Images:

Gainesite

Comments: Fragment of intensely blue colored gainesite on paper.
Location: Nevel Quarry (Twin Tunnels; United Feldspar Quarry), Newry, Oxford Co., Maine, USA. Scale: Fragment Size 0.2 mm.
© Jeff Weissman / Photographic Guide to Mineral Species

Gainesite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:2.60682

Cell Dimensions:

a = 6.567, c = 17.119, Z = 2; V = 738.27 Den(Calc)= 2.88

Crystal System:

Tetragonal - Ditetragonal DipyramidalH-M Symbol (4/m 2/m 2/m) Space Group: I 4₁/amd

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 6.068(1), 3.265(0.9), 3.023(0.5),

Crystal Structure:

Mouse
drag1 - LMB Manipulate Structure
drag2 - RMB Resize/Rotate
Keyboard
S - Stereo Pair on/off
H - Help Screen
I - Data Info
A - Atoms On/Off
P - Polyhedra On/Off
B - Bonds On/Off
Help on Above

Moore P B , Araki T , Steele I M , Swihart G H , Kampf A R , American Mineralogist , 68 (1983) p.1022-1028, Gainesite, sodium zirconium beryllophosphate: A new mineral and its crystal, structure

Physical Properties of Gainesite

Color:

Blue.

Density:

2.94

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Fracture:

Conchoidal - Fractures developed in brittle materials characterized by smoothly curving surfaces, (e.g. quartz).

Habit:

Pyramidal - Crystals are shaped like pyramids.

Hardness:

4 - Fluorite

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Optical Properties of Gainesite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.079 (Fair) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.101 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2167,KPDmeas= 0.2122,KC= 0.1967
Ncalc = 1.57 - 1.58

Optical Data:

Uniaxial (+), w=1.618, e=1.63, bire=0.0120.

Calculated Properties of Gainesite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.82 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Gainesite =2.94 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.03
Boson Index = 0.97

Photoelectric:

PE_Gainesite= 42.30 barns/electron
U=PE_Gainesite x r_electron= 119.44 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 25.43 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Concentration of Gainesite per GRapi unit = 3.93 (%)

Estimated Radioactivity from Gainesite - barely detectable

Gainesite Classification

Dana Class:

40.05.04.01 (40)Hydrated Phosphates, etc

(40.05)with miscellaneous formulae

(40.05.04)Gainesite Group

40.05.04.01 Gainesite Na2Zr2Be(PO4)4•1-2(H2O) I 4₁/amd 4/m 2/m 2/m

40.05.04.02 Mccrillisite NaCs(Be,Li)Zr2(PO4)4•1-2(H2O) I 4₁/amd 4/m 2/m 2/m

40.05.04.03 Selwynite NaK(Be,Al)Zr2(PO4)4•2(H2O) I 4₁/amd 4/m 2/m 2/m

Strunz Class:

08.CA.20 08 - PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES

08.C - Phosphates without Additional Anions, with H2O

08.CA -With small and large/medium cations

08.CA.20 Gainesite Na2Zr2Be(PO4)4•1-2(H2O) I 4₁/amd 4/m 2/m 2/m

08.CA.20 Mccrillisite NaCs(Be,Li)Zr2(PO4)4•1-2(H2O) I 4₁/amd 4/m 2/m 2/m

08.CA.20 Selwynite NaK(Be,Al)Zr2(PO4)4•2(H2O) I 4₁/amd 4/m 2/m 2/m

Other Gainesite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic4) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Gainesite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
4 - GeoScienceWorld
5 - Google Images
6 - Google Scholar
7 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
8 - MinDAT
9 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
10 - Online Mineral Museum
11 - QUT Mineral Atlas
12 - Ruff.Info
13 - WWW-MINCRYST

Search for Gainesite using:

[AOL] [Bing] [Dog Pile] [GeoScienceWorld] [HotBot] [Ixquick] [Lycos] [MAMMA] [Scirus] [Teoma] [WebCrawler] [Wikipedia] [YAHOO]

Visit our Advertisers for Gainesite :

A Bijoux Google Search for Gainesite
Adam's Minerals Google Search for Gainesite
Cape Minerals Google Search for Gainesite
Dakota Matrix Minerals Google Search for Gainesite
Excalibur Mineral Corp. Google Search for Gainesite
Exceptional Minerals Google Search for Gainesite
John Betts Fine Minerals Search for Gainesite
McDougall Minerals Google Search for Gainesite
Mineral News Website Link
Rock and Mineral Shows Google Search for Gainesite
Weinrich Minerals, Inc. Google Search for Gainesite

Ask about Gainesite here :
Ask-A-Mineralogist from the Mineralogical Society of America
Mindat.org's Discussion Groups
Original Rockhounds Discussion Group
Rockhounds Discussion Group on Yahoo Groups
Mineral Discussion Forum from Fabre Minerals - also available in Español

Print or Cut-and-Paste your Gainesite Specimen Label here :

Gainesite

Na2Zr2Be(PO4)4•1-2(H2O)
Dana No: 40.05.04.01 Strunz No: 08.CA.20
Locality:

Notes: