Mineralpedia Details for Baotite

Named for the type locality at the Bayan Obo deposit in the Baotou Prefecture of China. Baotite is a rare mineral that can be found in additional localities in the United States, the Czech Republic, Austria, France, and a few others. It occurs in quartz veins that cut quartzite at the type locality and in a carbonate vein that cuts hornblende gneiss that is intruded by diabase sills and pegmatites at a USA locality.

Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/baotite.pdf

Formula

Ba₄(Ti,Nb,W)₈O₁₆(SiO₃)₄Cl 

Crystal System

Tetragonal 

Crystal Habit

Subhedral Crystals 

Cleavage

Good, None, None 

Luster

Vitreous (Glassy) 

Color

light brown, black 

Class

Tetragonal - Dipyramidal 

Fracture

Hackly 

Hardness

6 

WebMineral

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Mindat

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Brown masses, crystalline in quartz.