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bastnasite

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bast⋅naes⋅ite

[bast-nuh-sahyt]
–noun
a rare-earth mineral, fluorocarbonate of lanthanum and cerium, with a waxy-yellow to reddish-brown color, commonly associated with zinc ores.
Also, bast⋅näs⋅ite.


Origin:
named after Bastnäs, mine in Sweden; see -ite 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Encyclopedia

bastnasite

a cerium fluoride carbonate, CeCO3(OH,F), found in contact metamorphic zones and pegmatites; cerium is commonly substituted by light rare earths, lanthanum, yttrium, and thorium. It ranges in colour from wax-yellow to reddish-brown. Bastnaesite is commonly associated with other rare-earth-bearing minerals such as allanite, cerite, and tysonite; it is often an alteration product of tysonite. Bastnaesite occurs in pegmatites near Pikes Peak, Colo. and with fluorite in Lincoln County, New Mexico; it is commercially mined at Mountain Pass, Calif. For detailed physical properties, see carbonate mineral (table)

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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