Pollucite
| Pollucite | ||
|---|---|---|
Specific gravity 2.7 to 3.0 | | |
| Optical properties | Isotropic or very weakly anisotropic | |
| Refractive index | 1.508–1.528 | |
| Solubility | Readily soluble in HF; dissolves with difficulty in hot HCl | |
| Other characteristics | Sometimes weakly fluorescent under SW and LW UV | |
| References | [2][3][4][5][6] | |
Pollucite is a
Discovery and occurrence
It was first described by August Breithaupt in 1846 for occurrences on the island of Elba, Italy. It is named for Pollux, the twin of Castor on the grounds that it is often found associated with petalite (previously known as castorite).[7] The high caesium content was missed by the first analysis by Karl Friedrich Plattner in 1848,[8] but after the discovery of caesium in 1860 a second analysis in 1864 was able to show the high caesium content of pollucite.[9]
Its typical occurrence is in lithium-rich granite pegmatites in association with quartz, spodumene, petalite, amblygonite, lepidolite, elbaite, cassiterite, columbite, apatite, eucryptite, muscovite, albite and microcline.
About 82% of the world's known reserves of pollucite occur near Bernic Lake in Manitoba, Canada, where they are mined for their caesium content for use in caesium formate oil drilling assistance.[10] This ore is about 23%[11]: 1 to 25%[12]: 2 caesium by weight.
References
- S2CID 235729616.
- ^ Mineralienatlas
- ISBN 978-0471193104
- ^ Pollucite on Mindat.org
- ^ Pollucite data on Webmineral
- ^ Handbook of Mineralogy
- .
- .
- ^ Pisani, F. (1864). "Étude chimique et analyse du pollux de l'ile d'Elbe". Comptes rendus. 58: 714–716.
- ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-75752682.html Original reference to Mining Journal, March 2, 2001, p 160. Accessed March 28, 2009. (dead link 15 February 2022)
- ^ Harris, Keith L. (1979). Cesium. US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
- ^ Nichols, Ivan L.; Dean, Karl C. (1966). Volatilization of Cesium Chloride from Pollucite Ore. Vol. 6780. US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
