Joaquinite
Species (IMA name: Joaquinite-(Ce))
Very Rare · NaBa₂Fe++Ti₂Ce₂(Si₄O₁₂)₂O₂(OH)•H₂O
A rare cerium titanium silicate in small honey-yellow crystals, best known from San Benito County, California, where it grows with benitoite and neptunite in natrolite veins. A few alkaline rocks in Canada and Greenland yield it too.
Identity
- Formula
- NaBa₂Fe++Ti₂Ce₂(Si₄O₁₂)₂O₂(OH)•H₂O
- Chemical class
- Silicate
- Also known as
- Joaquinite-(Ce)
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Habits
- Equant, Tabular
- Fracture
- Uneven
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 5
- Density
- 3.93 g/cm³
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Colors
- honey yellow, brown
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent
Geology
- Origins
- Hydrothermal, Metamorphic
- Host rocks
- Volcanic rock, Ultramafic rock (peridotite, serpentinite)
- Associated minerals
- Benitoite, Neptunite, Natrolite
- Found in
- Hydrothermal vein (lode)
- Geography
- USA, Canada, Greenland
Classification
- Rarity
- Very Rare
- Gem quality
- No
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- Joaquinite-(Ce). Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Joaquinite-(Ce). Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Joaquinite-(Ce) Mineral Data. webmineral.com.
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