Studenitsite is a rare
borate mineral with chemical formula of NaCa
2 9O14(OH)4�2H
2O.
Studenitsite has a vitreous luster, a Mohs hardness of 6 and color of light-dirty yellow.
[ It is a monoclinic mineral and belongs to the space group P2/c.][Jambor, L.John.(1996) New Mineral Names.American Mineralogist, 81, 1284.] The basic unit of the crystal structure 9O14(OH)4-layers has a Miller Index of (001).[ Studenitsite has a low surface relief, which means the measure of the relative difference between the index of refraction of the mineral and surrounding medium is small. Birefringence is the difference between two principal indices of refraction of a uniaxial crystal. Studenitsite has a maximum birefringent value of δ = 0.032. Studenitsite has three indices of refraction. Their values are nα = 1.532, nβ = 1.538, nγ = 1.564. Indices of refraction are the ratio of the light's speed in the mineral and the medium.][
Studenitsite is an extremely rare mineral that has only been found in the Piskaya deposit, Yarondolskii Basin, on the Ibar River, 280 km south of ]Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Serbia. The deposit is classified as a volcanogenic-sedimentary borate deposit with clay and carbonate minerals.[ It occurs associated with ]colemanite
Colemanite (Ca2B6O11·5H2O) or (CaB3O4(OH)3·H2O) is a borate mineral found in evaporite deposits of alkaline lacustrine environments. Colemanite is a secondary mineral that forms by alteration of borax and ulexite.
It was first described ...
, howlite, ulexite and pentahydroborite.[ It is a rare but important mineral for understanding the volcanic settings in Western Serbia.][
]
See also
* List of minerals
References
{{reflist
Calcium minerals
Sodium minerals
Phylloborates
Monoclinic minerals
Minerals in space group 14