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Vanadinite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  Pb₅(VO₄)₃Cl  [Lead Chlorovanadate]

Discovered in 1838;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).
Vanadinite is named for its vanadium content.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Phosphates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

7/B.39-170

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

8.BN.05

8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
B : Phosphates, etc., with additional anions, without H₂O
N : With only large cations, (OH, etc.):RO₄ = 0.33:1

Related to:

Apatite Group. Pyromorphite Subgroup. Vanadinite - Mimetite Series. Vanadinite - Pyromorphite Series. The vanadate analogue of Mimetite and Pyromorphite. Isostructural with Mimetite and Pyromorphite.

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Hexagonal - Dipyramidal

Crystal Habit:

Well developed hexagonal prisms [0001] with smooth faces and sharp edges; commonly cavernous, also acicular, hairlike, fibrous, rounded, globular, skeletalized. Crystals may exhibit concentric zones of varying composition.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

None

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven, Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

2.5 - 3.0

Density:

6.88 (g/cm³); Density decreases with the substitution of Ca for Pb; repaorted values range between ~6.5 to 7.1.

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Readily soluble in HNO3 to a yellow solution; soluble in HCl to a green solution with the deposition of lead chloride.

Optical Properties

Color:

Orange-Red, Red-Brown, Brown, bright Red, Yellow, Whitish; pale straw-Yellow; Colorless or weakly tinted in transmitted light. May exhibit zoned coloration due to varying composition.

Transparency:

Transparent, Translucent to Opaque

Luster:

Adamantine to Sub-Adamantine, Resinous

Refractive Index:

2.350 - 2.416  Uniaxial ( - )

Birefringence:

0.0660

Dispersion:

Strong

Pleochroism:

Weak; Visible in tinted material in transmitted light; Dichroism: e = light, w = darker

Occurances

Geological Setting:

A secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of lead-bearing deposits, the vanadium leached from wall-rock silicates.

Common Associations:

Anglesite, Barite, Calcite, Cerussite, Descloizite, Mimetite, Mottramite, Pyromorphite, Wulfenite, iron oxides

Common Impurities:

As, Ca, P

Type Locality:

Zimapán, Mun. de Zimapán, Hidalgo, Mexico

Year Discovered:

1838

View mineral photos:

Vanadinite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Vanadinite is a fairly common and attractive mineral but rarely available as a faceted gem. It was first discovered 1838 by Señor A.M. del Rio (1764-1849), Professor, School of Mines of Mexico, Zimapan. Vanadinite shares the same structure with Apatite and the two share similar crystal shapes at times. Vanadinite's classic crystal habit is short hexagonal prisms that are wider than they are long, and terminated by a flat basal face. The high luster and deep red color make Vanadinite very appealing to mineral collectors.

There are many localities, even for fine crystals. The most notable are Zimapán, Hidalgo; at San Carlos and Los Lamentos, Chihuahua, Mexico. In the USA, in Arizona, fine examples from the Old Yuma mine, near Tucson, Pima County, at the Hamburg, Red Cloud, and North Geronimo mines, Silver district, La Paz County, New Mexico, USA. In Morocco, large crystals from Mibladen, at Taouz, and in the Touissit mine, near Oujda. Very large crystals from Abenab, Otavi district, Namibia.
 

  
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