Eitelite
Eitelite can be an extremely rare mineral that is carbonate found at merely a extremely few localities worldwide. Although mindat.org Lists localities which can be a few the sole sources of any examples seems to be within the US at the Mapco Shrine Hospital No. 1 well, Duchesne County, Utah as well as the Westvaco Mine, Green River formation, Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Of these two locations just the Wesvaco Mine has produced crystals large sufficient to be faceted. The crystals from there are unprecedented and big for the types. They’re also very attractive with colors of pale to straw yellow with translucence and luster that is vitreous. The Westvaco Mine crystals are a find that is fairly brand new presented during the 2012 Tucson Gem and Mineral show.
Sodium magnesium carbonate (Eitelite) was indeed known from laboratory experiments long before it was found being a mineral that is natural. In 1851 De Sainte-Claire Deville found that the anhydrous double carbonate formed when heating a concentrated solution of sodium carbonate with magnesium bicarbonate to aim that is boiling.
Natural Eitelite was initially found in 1954 in a core sample from about 2,800 feet deep in the Carter Oil Company Kermit Poulson No. 1 Well, Duchesne County, Utah, USA and first described and analysed in 1955 by Charles Milton, J. M. Axelrod and F. S. Grimaldi. It had been found in association with minerals such as for instance Crocidolite, Searlesite and Shortite. Coincidentally, Shortite is another carbonate mineral that was also discovered in a fine sample that is core.
Eitelite had been called to honor Dr. Wilhelm Hermann Julius Eitel (1891–1979), founder and Director regarding the Institute of Silicate Research, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA, who first synthesized the substance. German born Eitel was among about 1,500 leading German scientists brought towards the United States after World War II in Operation Paperclip, a organization that is postwar of consultants whose task was to bring German scientists to America. He served being a research and consultant scientist for the U. S. Navy, and came to the University of Toledo in 1952 to establish the Institute of Silicate Research. The Institute has been renamed “The Eitel Institute for Silicate analysis” in honor regarding the director emeritus. Dr. Eitel, who was experienced in twelve languages, was the writer of various articles being systematic publications. He had just finished volume 8 of his monograph series “Physical Chemistry of Silicates”, when he passed away.
Eitelite distribution: in the united states, in Utah, from drill core within the Green River development, in Duchesne County, at the Kermit Poulson No. 1 well and abundant in large crystals in the Mapco Shrine Hospital #1 well; in the South Ouray well, Uintah County. In Canada at the Ekati Mine, Lac de Gras, Northwest Territories. From the Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. From Mahla Crater, Meidob Hills, South Darfur Wilayah, Sudan. At the Darai-Pioz Glacier, Alai Number, Tien Shan Mtn, Region of Republican Subordination, Tajikistan.
| Chemical Formula: | Na2Mg(CO3)2 |
| Sodium Magnesium Carbonate | |
| Molecular Weight: | 190.30 gm |
| Composition: | Sodium | 24.16 % | Na | 32.57 % | Na2O |
| Magnesium | 12.77 % | Mg | 21.18 % | MgO | |
| Carbon | 12.62 % | C | 46.25 % | CO2 | |
| Oxygen | 50.44 % | O | |||
| 100.00 % | 100.00 % | = TOTAL OXIDE |
| Crystallography: | Trigonal – Rhombohedral |
| Crystal Habit: | As imperfect rhombohedral to pseudo-octahedral crystals, to 17 mm, composed of {1011}, {0112} and {0001}. |
| Twinning: | None |
| Cleavage: | Excellent on {0001}; and another transverse to {0001}, conspicuous |
| Fracture: | Irregular/Uneven Conchoidal Fibrous Hackly Micaceous None observed Splintery Step-like Sub-Conchoidal |
| Tenacity: | Brittle |
| Moh’s Hardness: | 3.5 |
| Density: | 2.737 (g/cm3) |
| Luminescence: | None |
| Radioactivity: | Not Radioactive |
| Color: | Colorless, pale yellow to staw yellow |
| Transparency: | Transparent to translucent |
| Luster: | Vitreous |
| Refractive Index: | 1.450 – 1.605 Uniaxial ( – ) |
| Birefringence: | 0.155 |
| Dispersion: | n/a |
| Pleochroism: | None |
