:Locality: Diabazovoye, Homyel' Province, Belarus Size: 0.1 × 0.1 × 0.1 cm Description: A small (but good size for the species) grain of this rare complex REE silicate. It shows a flattened orange lenticular fragment from the Holotype specimen. In a protective capsule. Byelorussite-(Ce) was found in a salband of a quartz vein in lower Proterozoic metasomatized granosyenites. — Photo: Joan Rosell , from rosellminerals.com · CC BY-SA 4.0
Byelorussite-(Ce)
Byelorussite-(Ce) is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula NaBa₂Ce₂Mn²⁺Ti₂Si₈O₂₆(F,OH)·H₂O.
It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system (space group P2_12_12_1). It is a member of the Joaquinite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 5.5–6; specific gravity 3.92; White streak; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Bye-Ce, IMA status: approved, named in 1988.
Found in a salband of a quartz vein in lower Proterozoic metasomatized granosyenites.
It is found associated with Brookite, bastnÄasite, montmorillonite, quartz, magnesio-riebeckite, aegirine, albite, leucophanite, titanite.
The name refers to the occurrence in Belarus (formerly Byelorussia, USSR), and the cerium content.