Davidite is a
rare earth oxide
An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
mineral with chemical end members
La and
Ce. It exists in two forms:
*Davidite-(La) discovered at
Radium Hill
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
mine,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
in 1906 and named by
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...
for Australian geologist
Tannatt William Edgeworth David (1858-1934).
[Branagan, D.F. (2005): ''T.W. Edgeworth David: A Life: Geologist, Adventurer and "Knight in the Old Brown Hat"'', National Library of Australia, Canberra, p. 471. ]
*Davidite-(Ce) first described in 1960 from Vemork,
Iveland
Iveland is a municipality in Agder County, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Birketveit. Other villages in the municipality include Bakken, Skaiå, and ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
References
Uranium minerals
Trigonal minerals
Minerals in space group 148
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