Sep 26 2013
Pretulite belongs to Xenotime family. It was first discovered in 1996 from Hollkogel, Austria. It was named for the mountain Pretulalpe, Austria, on which the mineral was first discovered.
Properties of Pretulite
The following are the key properties of Pretulite:
- Cell Data
- Space Group: I41/amd
- a = 6.589 (1)
- c = 5.806(1)
- Z = 4
- Crystal Data
- Tetragonal
- Point Group: 4/m 2/m 2/m
- Dipyramidal crystals, {211}, with small {100}, {111}, and as anhedral grains, to 200 µm
- X-ray Powder Pattern: 3.293 (100), 2.4636 (42), 1.6470 (33), 1.6927 (30), 2.0546 (21), 2.1777 (20), 1.7432 (9).
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
| P2O5 |
50.02 |
50.72 |
| Sc2O3 |
47.38 |
49.28 |
| Y2O3 |
1.45 |
- |
| Total |
98.85 |
100.00 |
- Optical Properties
- Optical Class: Uniaxial (+)
- ω = 1.790(5)
- ε = 1.86(1)
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density) = 3.59 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of Pretulite = 3.69 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEPretulite = 5.60 barns/electron
U = PEPretulite x ρElectron density = 20.07 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.0002
Boson index = 0.9997 |
|
Radioactivity
|
Pretulite is not radioactive. |
How to Identify Pretulite
Pretulite can be found in pale pink color with perfect cleavage, adamantine luster, white streak and transparent appearance. The fractures to this mineral are thin and elongated produced by intersection of perfect cleavages. The crystals of pretulite appear well-formed and finely sized. The density of pretulite is 3.71 g/cm3, and its relative hardness is 5.
Global Distribution
Pretulite is distributed in the following places:
- Hollkogel, 12 km south-southwest of Murzzuschlag, at F¨urstenbauer, Austria
- Pretulalpe, Styria.
Occurrence of Pretulite and Useful Mineral Association
Pretulite occurs as a rare mineral in lazulite-quartz veins in phyllite-mica schist. It is closely associated with bearthite, corundum, xenotime-(Y), florencite-(Ce), goyazite, hydroxylherderite, wardite, augelite, paragonite, chlorapatite, rutile, fluorapatite, clinochlore, muscovite and lazulite.
References