Borate Minerals – April 22
Boron is a rather rare element in Earth; its geochemistry causes it to concentrate in Earth’s crust. Of the 5688 mineral species known at this writing, 301 contain boron, or 5.3% of the mineral kingdom; that is about 1 in 20 mineral species… 295 of the 301 boron minerals contain oxygen. Boron coordinates with oxygen in two configurations: triangular planar BO3 or tetrahedral BO4. Interconnections of these two types of borate anions and along with other anions (i.e. silicate) and water molecules lead to significant mineral diversity. Boron is essential to the axinite and tourmaline group minerals, and to species boracite and datolite. Some boron minerals contain significant water, making them soft and unstable, such as ulexite and kurnakovite. Certain gem exotic borates are quite hard such painite as johachidolite.
This gallery contains 24 specimens.
 #1793 Boracite |
#1789 Datolite |
#1803 Fluoborite |
#1804 Hambergite |
#1792 Henmilite |
#1801 Hydroboracite |
#1797 Johachidolite |
#1799 Kurnakovite |
#1791 Ludwigite |
#1786 Magnesioaxinite |
#1785 Magnesioaxinite |
#1787 Manganaxinite |
#1796 Nobleite |
#1805 Painite |
#1790 Rhodizite (ex Burminco) |
#1782 Roweite |
#1784 Serendibite |
#1783 Serendibite |
#1794 Sussexite |
#1798 Ulexite (China!) |
#1788 Ulexite clamshell |
#1795 vanadium-bearing Dravite |
#1806 vanadium-bearing Dravite |
#1802 Veatchite |
