Oxystannomicrolite
A tin- and oxygen-dominant member of the microlite pyrochlore group.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Oxystannomicrolite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the oxides & hydroxide class, with the chemical formula Sn₂Ta₂O₆O.
It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system (space group Fd3m). It is a member of the Pyrochlore-microlite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 7; specific gravity 8.34.
IMA symbol Omic, IMA status: approved, named in 1968.
A very rare mineral, replacing ferrowodginite inclusions in tantalian cassiterite, in a museum specimen from a granite pegmatite.
It is found associated with Ferrowodginite, tantalian cassiterite, bismuth.
The name refers to a member of the microlite group with prefixes to indicate dominant oxygen (oxy) in the Y site and tin (stanno) in the A site. Formerly ‘stannomicrolite’.