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Tantalite-(Mg)

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Big Photo

Lipovka Mine (Lipovskaya Mine; Lipovaya Mine), Lipovka pegmatite field, Rezh District, Ekaterinburgskaya (Sverdlovskaya) Oblast', Middle Urals, Urals Region, Russia
© Knut Eldjarn

Show Tantalite-(Mg) Photos (2)



Formula:
(Mg,Fe
2+
 
)(Ta,Nb)
 
2
O
 
6
System:OrthorhombicColour:black
Hardness:5½
Member of:Columbite Group
Name:For its relation to ferrotantalite and magnesium being the dominant cation


Formerly known as magnesiotantalite.

Classification of Tantalite-(Mg)

IMA status:Approved 2002
Strunz 8th edition ID:4/D.18-35
Nickel-Strunz 10th (pending) edition ID:4.DB.35

4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates)
D : Metal: Oxygen = 1:2 and similar
B : With medium-sized cations; chains of edge-sharing octahedra
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Type Occurrence of Tantalite-(Mg)

Type Locality:Lipovka Mine (Lipovskaya Mine; Lipovaya Mine), Lipovka pegmatite field, Rezh District, Ekaterinburgskaya (Sverdlovskaya) Oblast', Middle Urals, Urals Region, Russia
General Appearance of Type Material:Alteration zones to a maximum thickness of about 0.5 mm formed between manganotantalite crystals and the host rock
Geological Setting of type material:Andesite-calcite lenses in a zoned, metasomatically altered pegmatite vein hosted by serpentinite
Associated Minerals at type locality:
Uranmicrolite (of Hogarth 1977)TourmalineTantalite-(Mn)Tantalite-(Fe)Phlogopite
PhenakiteCordieriteColumbite-(Fe)ClinochloreChrysoberyl
Amphibole Group

Physical Properties of Tantalite-(Mg)

Lustre:Metallic
Diaphaneity (Transparency):Opaque
Colour:black
Streak:brownish red
Hardness (Mohs):5½
Tenacity:Brittle
Density (measured):6.73 g/cm3

Crystallography of Tantalite-(Mg)

Crystal System:Orthorhombic
Class (H-M):mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) - Dipyramidal
Cell Parameters:a = 14.33Å, b = 5.735Å, c = 5.058Å
Ratio:a:b:c = 2.499 : 1 : 0.882
Unit Cell Volume:V 415.68 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
X-Ray Powder Diffraction:
d-spacingIntensity
3.67 (60)
2.96 (100)
1.73 (70)
1.46 (90)

Chemical Properties of Tantalite-(Mg)

Formula:
(Mg,Fe
2+
 
)(Ta,Nb)
 
2
O
 
6
All elements listed in formula:Fe, Mg, Nb, O, Ta

Relationship of Tantalite-(Mg) to other Species

Member of:Columbite Group
Other Members of Group:

- +
Columbite-(Fe)
FeNb
 
2
O
 
6
Columbite-(Mg)
(Mg,Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)
 
2
O
 
6
Columbite-(Mn)
(Mn,Fe)(Nb,Ta)
 
2
O
 
6
Qitianlingite
(Fe,Mn)
 
2
(Nb,Ta)
 
2
WO
 
10
Tantalite-(Fe)
FeTa
 
2
O
 
6
Tantalite-(Mn)
MnTa
 
2
O
 
6
Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping):

- +
4.DB.05Argutite
GeO
 
2
4.DB.05Cassiterite
SnO
 
2
4.DB.05Plattnerite
PbO
 
2
4.DB.05Pyrolusite
MnO
 
2
4.DB.05Rutile
TiO
 
2
4.DB.05Tripuhyite
Fe
3+
 
Sb
5+
 
O
 
4
4.DB.05Tugarinovite
MoO
 
2
4.DB.05Varlamoffite
(Sn,Fe)(O,OH)
 
2
4.DB.10Byströmite
MgSb
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.10Tapiolite-(Fe)
(Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.10Tapiolite-(Mn)
(Mn,Fe)(Ta,Nb)
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.10Ordoñezite
ZnSb
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.15bAkhtenskite
ε-Mn
4+
 
O
 
2
4.DB.15cNsutite
(Mn
4+
 
,Mn
2+
 
)(O,OH)
 
2
4.DB.15aParamontroseite
V
4+
 
O
 
2
4.DB.15aRamsdellite
Mn
4+
 
O
 
2
4.DB.20Scrutinyite
alpha-PbO
 
2
4.DB.25Ishikawaite
U
4+
 
Fe
2+
 
Nb
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.25Ixiolite
(Ta,Nb,Sn,Fe,Mn)
 
4
O
 
8
4.DB.25Samarskite-(Y)
(Y,Fe
3+
 
,Fe
2+
 
,U,Th,Ca)
 
2
(Nb,Ta)
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.25Srilankite
Ti
 
2
ZrO
 
6
4.DB.25Yttrocolumbite-(Y)
Y(U
4+
 
,Fe
2+
 
)Nb
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.25Calciosamarskite
(Ca,Fe
3+
 
,Y)
 
2
(Nb,Ta,Ti)
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.25Samarskite-(Yb)
(Yb,Fe
3+
 
)
 
2
(Nb,Ta)
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.30Ferberite
FeWO
 
4
4.DB.30Hübnerite
MnWO
 
4
4.DB.30Sanmartinite
(Zn,Fe)WO
 
4
4.DB.30Krasnoselskite
CoWO
 
4
4.DB.30Heftetjernite
ScTaO
 
4
4.DB.30Huanzalaite
MgWO
 
4
4.DB.35Columbite-(Fe)
FeNb
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.35Tantalite-(Fe)
FeTa
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.35Columbite-(Mn)
(Mn,Fe)(Nb,Ta)
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.35Tantalite-(Mn)
MnTa
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.35Columbite-(Mg)
(Mg,Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)
 
2
O
 
6
4.DB.35Qitianlingite
(Fe,Mn)
 
2
(Nb,Ta)
 
2
WO
 
10
4.DB.35Magnocolumbite
4.DB.40Ferrowodginite
FeSnTa
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.40Lithiotantite
Li(Ta,Nb)
 
3
O
 
8
4.DB.40Lithiowodginite
LiTa
 
3
O
 
8
4.DB.40Titanowodginite
MnTiTa
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.40Wodginite
Mn(Sn,Ta)Ta
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.40Ferrotitanowodginite
Fe
2+
 
TiTa
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.40Wolframowodginite
Mn(Mn,Sn,Fe,Ta)(W,Ta,Nb)
 
2
O
 
8
4.DB.45Tivanite
V
3+
 
TiO
 
3
(OH)
4.DB.50Carmichaelite
(Ti,Cr,Fe)[O
 
2-x
(OH)
 
x
]
4.DB.55Alumotantite
AlTaO
 
4
4.DB.60Biehlite
((Sb,As)O)
 
2
[MoO
 
4
]

Other Names for Tantalite-(Mg)

Synonyms:
IMA2002-018Magnesiotantalite
Other Languages:
German:Magnesiotantalit
Spanish:Magnesiotantalita

Other Information

Health Warning:No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

References for Tantalite-(Mg)

Reference List:

- +
Pekov, I.V., et al. (2003): Zapiski Vserossiyskogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva: 132(2): 49-59 (in Russian).

Internet Links for Tantalite-(Mg)

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  • Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project[Link Broken?]
  • American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database[Link Broken?]
  • Magnesiotantalite details from Handbook of Mineralogy (PDF)[Link Broken?]
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    • Localities for Tantalite-(Mg)

    Hide Locality List
    (TL) indicates type locality. ? indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. All other localities listed without reference should be considered as uncertain and unproven until references can be found.
    Russia
     
    • Urals Region
      • Middle Urals
        • Ekaterinburgskaya (Sverdlovskaya) Oblast'
          • Rezh District
            • Lipovka pegmatite field
    		Zap. Vseross. Mineral. Obshch., 132(2),; Lapis 28(10), 60 (2003)
    Sri Lanka
     
    • Sabaragamuwa Province
      • Ratnapura District
        • Ratnapura
    		Ceylon Aluvial Mine, (Book, Co. 2002)
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