Bertrandite is a beryllium sorosilicate hydroxide mineral with composition: Be4Si2O7(OH)2. Bertrandite is a colorless to pale yellow orthorhombic mineral with a hardness of 6–7.

It is commonly found in beryllium rich pegmatites and is in part an alteration of beryl. Bertrandite often occurs as a pseudomorphic replacement of beryl. Associated minerals include beryl, phenakite, herderite, tourmaline, muscovite, fluorite and quartz.[2]

It, with beryl, are ores of beryllium.

It was discovered near Nantes, France in 1883 and named after French mineralogist, Emile Bertrand (1844–1909).[2][3][4]

One of the world's largest deposits of bertrandite is Spor Mountain, Thomas Range, Utah which is currently the source of most of the world's beryllium production.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ a b c Handbook of Mineralogy
  3. ^ a b Bertrandite on Mindat.org
  4. ^ a b Bertrandite on Webmineral
  5. ^ Fact Sheet 2016–3081 (October 2016). "Beryllium—A Critical Mineral Commodity—Resources, Production, and Supply Chain" (Article). usgs.gov/. pubs.usgs.gov: USGS. p. 4. Retrieved 16 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Shawe, Daniel (1968). Ridge, John (ed.). Geology of the Spor mountain Beryllium District, Utah, in Ore deposits of the United States, 1933–1967. New York: The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum engineers, Inc. pp. 1148–1161.