Nenadkevichite Explained

Nenadkevichite
Category:Cyclosilicate
Strunz:9.CE.30a
System:Orthorhombic
Class:Dipyramidal (mmm)
H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m)
Symmetry:Pbam
Color:Rose-pink, very light pink, light yellow, brown; dark brown due to inclusions
Cleavage:Poor/indistinct
Fracture:Irregular/uneven
Tenacity:Brittle
Mohs:5
Luster:Vitreous, dull
Streak:White, very light rose-pink
Diaphaneity:Transparent, translucent, opaque
Gravity:2.78 – 2.885 g/cm3

Nenadkevichite is a rare silicate mineral containing niobium with the chemical formula . It forms brown to yellow to rose colored orthorhombic dipyramidal crystals with a dull to earthy luster. It has a Mohs hardness of 5 and a specific gravity of 2.86.

It was first reported in 1955 from a nepheline syenite pegmatite in the Kola Peninsula. In addition it has been reported from Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada; the Ilimaussaq complex, Greenland; Windhoek District, Namibia; and Zheltye Vody, Ukraine. It was named after Konstantin Avtonomovich Nenadkevich (1880–1963), Russian mineralogist and geochemist.

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