Loparite-(Ce) is a granular, brittle oxide mineral of the

perovskite Perovskite (pronunciation: ) is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (chemical formula ). Its name is also applied to the class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure as (XIIA2+VIB4+X2−3), known a ...

class. It is black to dark grey and may appear grey to white in reflected light on polished

thin section In optical mineralogy and petrography, a thin section (or petrographic thin section) is a thin slice of a rock or mineral sample, prepared in a laboratory, for use with a polarizing petrographic microscope, electron microscope and electron ...

with reddish brown internal reflections.Loparite-(Ce) o
Webmineral
/ref> It has the chemical formula of . Nioboloparite is a variation of Loparite-(Ce) containing

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 s ...

. Loparite occurs as a primary phase in nepheline syenite intrusions and

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 silici ...

s. It is also found replacing

carbonatite Carbonatite () is a type of intrusive or extrusive igneous rock defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50% carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble and may require geochemical verification. Carbonati ...

s. Loparite was first described for an occurrence in the Khibiny and Lovozero massifs,

Kola peninsula The Kola Peninsula (russian: Кольский полуостров, Kolsky poluostrov; sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk ...

in northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. File:Loparite-crystal-structure-1.png , File:Loparite-crystal-structure-2.png , File:Loparite-crystal-structure-3.png ,

Etymology

The term originates from the word ''Lopar'', the (former) Russian name for the

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

indigenous inhabitants of the

, and the

cerium Cerium is a chemical element with the symbol Ce and atomic number 58. Cerium is a soft, ductile, and silvery-white metal that tarnishes when exposed to air. Cerium is the second element in the lanthanide series, and while it often shows the +3 ...

content.Loparite-(Ce) o
Mindat.org
/ref>

References

External links

Webmineral
Oxide minerals Sámi {{oxide-mineral-stub