Veatchite is an unusual

strontium Strontium is a chemical element; it has symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, it is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to ...

borate A borate is any of a range of boron oxyanions, anions containing boron and oxygen, such as orthoborate , metaborate , or tetraborate ; or any salt of such anions, such as sodium metaborate, and borax . The name also refers to esters of su ...

, with the chemical formula Sr₂B₁₁O₁₆(OH)₅·H₂O. There are two known

polytype In crystallography, polymorphism is the phenomenon where a compound or element can crystallize into more than one crystal structure. The preceding definition has evolved over many years and is still under discussion today. Discussion of the defi ...

s, veatchite-A and veatchite-p.Grice J D, Pring A (2012) Veatchite: structural relationships of the three polytypes, American Mineralogist 97, 489-495 Veatchite was discovered in 1938, at the Sterling Borax mine in Tick Canyon,

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Veatchite is named to honor

John Veatch John Allen Veatch (5 March 180824 April 1870), a surgeon, surveyor, and scientist, was known for his discovery of large deposits of borax at Tuscan Springs, California, on 8 January 1856. Biography Veatch moved with his family to Texas in 1834, ...

, the first person to detect

boron Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three ...

in the mineral waters of California.

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Strontium minerals Phylloborates Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 9 {{mineral-stub

See also

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External links