Béhierite
A very rare borate and the tantalum end-member of a series with niobium-bearing schiavinatoite — one of the simplest tantalum minerals.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Béhierite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the borate class, with the chemical formula Ta(BO₄).
It crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system (space group I4_1/amd). It is a member of the Zircon structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 7–7.5; specific gravity 7.86; White streak; Adamantine luster; optically uniaxial.
IMA symbol Béh, IMA status: approved, named in 1961.
Very rare, in granite pegmatites.
It is found associated with Elbaite, pollucite, manganoan apatite, lepidolite, quartz, albite (Manjaka, Madagascar); schiavinatoite, rhodizite, elbaite–liddicoatite, quartz.
The mineral was named to honor Jean Béhier (1903–1965), French mineralogist, Geological Survey of Madagascar, who discovered the mineral.