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Qaqarssukite-(Ce) mineral

Anhydrous barium-cerium fluorocarbonate mineral with current September 2026 IMA-CNMNC approved formula BaCe(CO3)2F, status A, and approval number IMA 2004-019. Grice, Gault, Rowe, and Johnsen (2006) described the cotype specimens (CMNMC 84398 and CMNMC 84399) from an exploration drill-core section of a late-stage REE carbonatite vein at a depth of 71 m in the Qaqarssuk carbonatite complex, Sukkertoppen district, West Greenland (Denmark). Electron-microprobe WDS analysis (mean of 4 analyses on 2 crystals, p. 1139) with CO2 calculated by stoichiometry yielded CaO 2.82, SrO 3.92, BaO 27.41, La2O3 8.82, Ce2O3 20.26, Pr2O3 1.85, Nd2O3 6.64, Sm2O3 0.37, Eu2O3 0.18, TiO2 1.41, P2O5 0.05, F 5.04, CO2 23.00 (calc), less O=F 2.12, total 99.65 wt%, corresponding on the basis of 6 O + 1 F anions to the empirical formula (Ba0.68Ca0.19Sr0.14)Sigma1.01(Ce0.47La0.21Nd0.15Pr0.04Sm0.01Ti0.07)Sigma0.95(CO3)2F1.01. X-ray diffraction refined in trigonal space group P-3c1 (powder XRD cell a = 7.2036(9), c = 18.172(3) A, V = 816.6(2) A3, Table 1; single-crystal XRD cell a = 7.242(1), c = 18.192(3) A, V = 826.2(4) A3, Z = 6, R = 0.111 in Table 2 / R = 0.112 in text p. 1143, wR = 0.088 for 1325 observed reflections with |Fo| > 4sigma(|Fo|) out of 2799 unique reflections) established a dimorph of huanghoite-(Ce) with disordered Ba/Ce site occupancy and standing-on-edge (CO3)2- triangles perpendicular to (0001). The mineral effervesces slowly in dilute HCl. Distinct from huanghoite-(Ce), kukharenkoite-(Ce), cordylite-(Ce), and elemental cerium; no criticality designation, microbial mechanism, or industrial recovery yield is asserted.

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Identifiers & Classification

System Identifier Label
IMA IMA:2004-019 Qaqarssukite-(Ce)

Sources & References

  1. ima_2026_09: IMA-CNMNC, The New IMA List of Minerals, September 2026, PDF page 180, Qaqarssukite-(Ce) row: formula BaCe(CO3)2F, status A, IMA No. 2004-019, country Denmark (Greenland), reference Canadian Mineralogist 44 (2006), 1137; column definitions on PDF page 1.
    https://cnmnc.units.it/files/editor/IMA_Master_List_(2026-09).pdf (accessed 2026-10-22)
  2. grice_2006_qaqarssukite: Grice JD, Gault RA, Rowe R, Johnsen O (2006), Qaqarssukite-(Ce), a new barium-cerium fluorcarbonate mineral species from Qaqarssuk, Greenland, Canadian Mineralogist 44:1137-1146, DOI 10.2113/gscanmin.44.5.1137. Complete 10-page primary PDF visually inspected: occurrence, cotypes CMNMC 84398 and 84399, WDS chemical analysis, and powder XRD Table 1 pp. 1137-1140; trigonal P-3c1 crystal-structure refinement Tables 2-5 and Figures 2-5 pp. 1141-1145.
    https://www.rruff.net/doclib/cm/vol44/CM44_1137.pdf (accessed 2026-10-22)

Curation History

Timestamp Curator Action Summary
2026-10-22T07:20:00Z antigravity CREATE Created qaqarssukite-(Ce) mineral record with verified IMA:2004-019 identity, Qaqarssuk carbonatite cotype WDS chemistry, and trigonal P-3c1 crystal structure from the complete 2006 primary study.

Record source: data/records/qaqarssukite-ce.yaml