Stibiotantalite is a mineral consisting of (

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...

tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is ...

niobium Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...

, and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

). It is found in complex granite

pegmatite A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic com ...

s. If the quantity of niobium exceeds the tantalum content, the mineral is called stibiocolumbite. It is translucent to transparent, medium hard (5.5 mohs), appears yellow to dark brown, reddish or greenish brown, with an adamantine luster. Stibiotantalite is found in veins and walls associated with

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

mines. It is a fairly rare to rare mineral. Due to its relative softness, it is more likely to be found in mineral collections than in jewelry.

Occurrence

Stibiotantalite has been found in several countries, but the most significant are Mozambique, Sri Lanka, and the USA. It occurs in complex granite

pegmatites A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic comp ...

. Mozambique and the USA have the most localities where Stibiotantalite has been found. Mozambique has 6, while the USA has 18. California alone has 15 of these localities.

Use

Stibiotantalite is primarily used as a gemstone. These gems are vivid, shiny, and golden-brown. These gems come between 0.73 carats and 6.34 carats, with the average being 3.54. These gems are similar in appearance to

sphalerite Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimen ...

, but they are brown instead of orange. While stibiotantalite and tantalite are similar, stibiotantalite is softer, brighter, and heavier.

Etymology

The "stibio-"

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the Word stem, stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy'' ...

is a reference to its antimony content. The tantalite

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

shows that the mineral is actually very similar to tantalite.

References

{{Jewellery, state=collapsed Gemstones Tantalum minerals Antimony minerals Tantalates Minerals described in 1893