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Monazite is an important ore for thorium, [8] lanthanum, and cerium. [9] It is often found in placer deposits. India, Madagascar, and South Africa have large deposits of monazite sands. The deposits in India are particularly rich in monazite. Monazite is radioactive due to the presence of thorium and
Monazite can form in fabrics caused by deformation. Monazite may be present as elongate grains aligned in foliation. It can be interpreted that either the monazite formed before the shearing and was aligned during shearing, or formed at the same time as the shearing. [3] It thus provides an upper limit of the shearing age.
In most cases the area is a thin section or a polished slab. The objects of interest vary between subdisciplines and can for example be quartz or feldspar grains in sedimentology , any type of mineral in petrology or different taxonomic groups in paleontology .
The composition of the lanthanides was about 49% cerium, 33% lanthanum, 12% neodymium, and 5% praseodymium, with some samarium and gadolinium, or distinctly more lanthanum and less neodymium and heavies as compared to commercial monazite. The europium content was at least double that of a typical monazite.
It is the cerium-dominant analogue of monazite-(La), monazite-(Nd), and monazite-(Sm). It is also the phosphorus analogue of gasparite-(Ce). [ 3 ] The group contains simple rare earth phosphate minerals with the general formula of AXO 4 , where A = Ce, La, Nd, or Sm (or, rarely, Bi), and X = P or, rarely, As.
Undulose extinction or undulatory extinction is a geological term referring to the type of extinction that occurs in certain minerals when examined in thin section under cross polarized light. As the microscope stage is rotated, individual mineral grains appear black when the polarization due to the mineral prevents any light from passing through.
This variety of monazite is typically colored bright rose-red. It is the neodymium analogue of monazite-(Ce) , monazite-(La) , and monazite-(Sm) . [ 4 ] The group contains simple rare earth phosphate minerals with the general formula of A T O 4 , where A = Ce, La, Nd, or Sm (or, rarely, Bi), and B = P or, rarely, As.
Monazite-(Sm) is an exceedingly rare representative of the monazite group, with samarium being the dominant rare earth element in its structure. It is the samarium analogue of monazite-(Ce), monazite-(La), and monazite-(Nd). It is only the second known mineral with samarium being the mineral-forming element, after florencite-(Sm). [3]