Thortveitite
Sorosilicate mineral
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Thortveitite is a rare mineral consisting of scandium yttrium silicate (Sc,Y)2Si2O7. It is the most widespread scandium mineral,[2] but natural thortveitite is not widely exploited as a source of scandium metal. Most scandium is derived from mine tailings, which can include thortveitite.[3] Thortveitite mining in the United States ceased in 1969.[4]
| Thortveitite | |
|---|---|
Thortveitite | |
| General | |
| Category | Minerals |
| Formula | (Sc,Y)2Si2O7 |
| IMA symbol | Tvt[1] |
| Strunz classification | 9.BC.05 |
| Crystal system | Monoclinic |
| Crystal class | Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) |
| Space group | C2/m |
| Identification | |
| Mohs scale hardness | 5–6 |
| Luster | vitreous |
| Streak | gray |
| Specific gravity | 3.3–3.8 |
Occurrence is in granitic pegmatites. It was named after Olaus Thortveit, a Norwegian engineer. It is grayish-green, black or gray in color.[5][6][7][8]
A transparent gem quality example was found in 2004, and reported in The Journal of Gemmology.[9]
