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Monazite Group

A group of related mineral species
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About Monazite GroupHide

Formula:
REE(PO4)
Name:
From the Greek μονάζει "to be solitary" in allusion to the rarity of its presence in the first known localities.
Members of the Monazite Group with dominant REE and P: Monazite-(Ce), Monazite-(La), Monazite-(Nd), Monazite-(Sm), Monazite-(Gd).

The name monazite, without a elemental suffix, was the accepted name for all material in this group, regardless of the REE-bearing components' relative abundance. The suffixes were added when the naming convention for all REE-bearing members was devised and implemented.

The great majority of "monazite" is monazite-(Ce), the La-, Nd-, Sm- and Gd-dominant members are all very rare.

Monazite usually contains small amounts of Th or sometimes U, both making it radioactive, and making it very useful for geochronology.

For "monazite-(Y)", see písekite-(Y) (this has a pyrochlore structure and thus is not a member of the monazite group).




Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:
2750
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:2750:8

Chemistry of Monazite GroupHide

Age distributionHide

Recorded ages:
Paleoarchean to Neogene : 3254 ± 72 Ma to 5.4 ± 0.5 Ma - based on 268 recorded ages.
Sample ages:
Sample IDRecorded ageGeologic TimeDating method
15.4 ± 0.5 MaMiocene208Pb/232U
212.1 ± 3.6 MaMiocene207Pb/235U
3285 MaCisuralianU-Th-Pb
4300 MaPennsylvanianU-Th-Pb
5303 MaPennsylvanianU-Th-Pb
6309 MaPennsylvanianU-Th-Pb
7317 MaPennsylvanianU-Th-Pb
8324 ± 4 MaMississippianU-Pb
9839 ± 21 MaTonianPb/Pb
10968.5 ± 12.4 MaTonian206Pb/238U
11986 ± 8 MaTonian207Pb/206Pb
12996.2 ± 14.7 MaTonian206Pb/238U
131013 ± 13 MaStenian207Pb/206Pb
141025 ± 7 MaStenian207Pb/206Pb
151038 ± 11 MaStenian207Pb/206Pb
161051 ± 11 MaStenian207Pb/206Pb
171156.8 ± 17.6 MaStenian206Pb/238U
182624 ± 9 MaNeoarcheanPb/Pb
192651 ± 3 MaNeoarcheanPb/Pb
203254 ± 72 MaPaleoarcheanPb/Pb
Sample references:
IDLocalityReferenceNotes
1Jas Roux, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
2  "  "
3Seiffen, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany
4  "  "
5  "  "
6  "  "
7  "  "
8Niederbobritzsch, Bobritzsch-Hilbersdorf, Mittelsachsen, Saxony, Germany
9Jack Hills, Nookawarra Station, Murchison Shire, Western Australia, Australia
10Andover Iron Mine, Andover Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA
11  "  "
12Noble pit, Sterling Hill, Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA
13  "  "
14  "  "
15  "  "
16  "  "
17  "  "
18Jack Hills, Nookawarra Station, Murchison Shire, Western Australia, Australia
19  "  "
20  "  "

Chemical AnalysisHide

Empirical formulas:
Sample IDEmpirical Formula
1(Gd0.30Sm0.24Nd0.15Ce0.10La0.05Dy0.03Y0.03Tb0.02Eu0.02Pr0.02Ca0.01)0.98P1.01O4

Crystallographic forms of Monazite GroupHide

Crystal Atlas:
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Monazite no.1 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
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Monazite no.37 - {100} - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
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Monazite no.116 - {11-1} - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
3d models and HTML5 code kindly provided by www.smorf.nl.

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IDSpeciesReferenceLinkYearLocalityPressure (GPa)Temp (K)
0019170Monazite-(Ce)Mooney R C L (1948) Crystal structures of a series of rare earth phosphates Journal of Chemical Physics 16 1003-10031948synthetic0293
0001703Monazite-(Sm)Ni Y, Hughes J M, Mariano A N (1995) Crystal chemistry of the monazite and xenotime structures Sm(PO4) American Mineralogist 80 21-2619950293
0001702Monazite-(Nd)Ni Y, Hughes J M, Mariano A N (1995) Crystal chemistry of the monazite and xenotime structures Nd(PO4) American Mineralogist 80 21-2619950293
0001699Monazite-(La)Ni Y, Hughes J M, Mariano A N (1995) Crystal chemistry of the monazite and xenotime structures La(PO4) American Mineralogist 80 21-2619950293
0001700Monazite-(Ce)Ni Y, Hughes J M, Mariano A N (1995) Crystal chemistry of the monazite and xenotime structures Ce(PO4) American Mineralogist 80 21-2619950293
0001698Monazite-(Ce)Ni Y, Hughes J M, Mariano A N (1995) Crystal chemistry of the monazite and xenotime structures American Mineralogist 80 21-2619950293
CIF Raw Data - click here to close

Synonyms of Monazite GroupHide

Other Language Names for Monazite GroupHide

Dutch:Monaziet
Japanese:モナズ石
Norwegian:Urdit
Polish:Monacyt
Portuguese:Monazite Group
Simplified Chinese:独居石
磷铈镧矿
Spanish:Monazita
Swedish:Monazit
Tajik (Cyrillic Script):Монтсит
Traditional Chinese:獨居石
磷鈰鑭礦
Turkish:Monazit
Ukrainian:Монацит

Relationship of Monazite Group to other SpeciesHide

Other Members of Monazite Supergroup:
CheraliteCaTh(PO4)2Mon. 2/m
CrocoitePbCr6+O4Mon. 2/m
Gasparite GroupREE(AsO4)
HuttoniteThSiO4Mon. 2/m
RooseveltiteBi(AsO4)Mon. 2/m
Monazite Group Members:
Monazite-(Ce) Ce(PO4)Mon. 2/m
Monazite-(Gd) Gd(PO4)Mon.
Monazite-(La) La(PO4)Mon. 2/m
Monazite-(Nd) Nd(PO4)Mon. 2/m
Monazite-(Sm) Sm(PO4)Mon. 2/m
Click on any node to view relationships. Formula-derived relationship network for the group members above. Use Find related species to add formula-neighbour species outside the current group view. Solid links show inferred chemical differences; dashed violet links show same-formula crystallographic differences. Hydration states are not treated as relationship changes. These relationships do not imply any real-world substitution reactions between these species.

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for Monazite GroupHide

References for Monazite GroupHide

Reference List:

Localities for Monazite GroupHide

Showing 4,957 localities.

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.
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