ARAGONITE
Chemical Formula: CaCO3
Familly: Carbonates
Status: IMA-GP
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Mineral for Display: Yes
Associated names (luminescent varieties, discredited names, synonymes etc.):
flos ferri, nicholsonite, strontio-aragonite, mossottite, tarnowitzite, ammolite, septaria, pearl, ktypeite, Erzbergite,
Luminescence:
UV Type |
Main color |
Intensity |
Observation Frequency |
|
| | | |
Long Waves (365nm): | Yellowish White | Strong | Very often | Mid waves (320 nm): | Pink | | | Short Waves (254 nm): | Bluish White | Medium | Very often | | | | |
Other colors LW: | White , Bluish White , Pinkish White , Orange , Orange Red , Red , Violet red , Violet Pink , Pink , Salmon pink , Blue , Greenish white , |
Other colors MW: | White , Bluish White , Yellowish White , Pinkish White , Pale Yellow , Orange Red , Red , Violet red , Violet Pink , Salmon pink , Greenish white , Yellowish , |
Other colors SW: | White , Bluish White , Yellowish White , Pinkish White , Pale Yellow , Orange , Orange Red , Red , Violet red , Violet Pink , Pink , Salmon pink , Yellowish Green , Green , Greenish white , Yellowish , |
Long Waves Picture (365nm)
ARAGONITE, Sicily, Italy.
OL (365 nm)
Col. G.Barmarin; Photo: G. Barmarin
Short Waves Pictures (254nm)
ARAGONITE, Sicily, Italy.
OC (254 nm)
Col. G.Barmarin; Photo: G. Barmarin
Galerie de photos:
...
To the gallery (8 images in the gallery)
Phosphorescence (in the common meaning of the term) seen by naked eye:
UV Type |
Color |
Intensity |
Observation Frequency |
Long Wave (365nm): | Greenish white | Strong | Often |
Mid Waves (320 nm): | Greenish white | Strong | Often | Short Waves (254 nm): | Greenish white | Strong | Often |
Thermoluminescence: Yes
Comments:
- Nicholsonite (Zincian Aragonite): OL: jaune-orangé; OC: blanc-bleuté, crème;
- Strontio-aragonite: OL: rouge-orangé, rose; OC: rose, blanc;
- Tarnowitzite (aragonite plombifère): OL:orange, jaune, crème, vert; OC: jaune, crème;
Kunz and Baskerville noted that aragonite fluoresces often strongly during their memorable investigation of 13000 mineral specimens in 1903.
Main Activator(s) and spectrum:
Most Common Activator: Mn2+
Other activators: (UO2)2+ (Uranyl ion) as impurities , Organic impurities , Ce3+ , Sm3+ , Eu3+ , Dy3+ , Radiation induced centers ,
Peaks in the spectrum (nm):
Sm3+ repl. Ca2+ : 603, 640nm
Mn2+ : broad band at 630nm (120nm half-width)
Dy3+ : 482, 486, 578, 579nm
Radiation induced center : 580nm (very short decay time of approximately 20 ns)
Spectrum: Michael Gaft, Petah Tikva, Israel. Plot: Institute of Mineralogy, University of Vienna, Austria, with permission of the authors.
...
To the spectrum gallery (3 spectra in the gallery)
Comments on activators and spectra:
Fluo green: due to U in traces;
Activators: Mn2+, Sm3+, Dy3+ (Gaft)
The broad luminescence band peaking at 580 nm with very short decay time of approximately 20 ns, could by analogy with Terlingua-type calcite may be preliminarily ascribed to radiation induced luminescence center. (Gaft)
Under cw laser excitation at 532 and 780nm several bands and narrow lines have been found in visible and IR parts of the spectrum. Evidently they may be connected with another type of Mn2+, trivalent REE, such as Sm3+, Eu3+ and different types of Nd3+ centers. The origin of the broad band peaking at approximately 700 nm needs further study.
The frequent occurrence of slight amounts of Strontium in aragonite was known during the time of Becquerel and he ascribed the luminescence to the presence of strontium. Later, Nichols confirmed the idea. Hence the name strontioaragonite for some specimen of very bright red fluorescing aragonite.
Actually, strontium is not considered anymore as the activator responsable for the red fluorescence of aragonite and Mn and REE are considered as the principal activators of this red fluorescence.
Best Locality for luminescence(*):
- Strontio-aragonite: red SW and LW, Boccheggiano mines, Montieri, Grosseto Province, Tuscany, Italy;
- Aragonite fluo pink/salmon LW, white SW : Sulphur Mine near Agrigento, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy;
- Giumentaro Mine (Capodarso Mine), Capodarso, Enna (Castrogiovanni), Enna Province, Sicily, Italy;
- Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy;
- Nicholsonite: fluo and phospho white SW & cream LW, Zinc Mine Friedenville, Friedensville, Saucon Valley, Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh Co., Pennsylvania, USA
- Tarnowitzite:yellowish-white, strongest SW or red SW: Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region, Namibia;
- Tarnowitzite: Touissit, Touissit District, Jerada Province, Oriental Region, Morocco ( Straw-yellow fluorescence SW+LW);
- Aragon de Molina, Spain (Twinned xls agregated in balls);
- Tazouta, Sefrou, Sefrou Province, Fès-Boulemane Region, Morocco (Twinned xls agregated in balls, dull green SW);
- Chihuahua, Mexico (bright green SW);
- Gallo river, Molina de Aragón, Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain (dull white SW);
- Pantoja, Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain (Acicular Aragonite bright blue-white LW);
- Great Southern Mine, Red Picacho District, Wickenburg area, Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA;
- Copper Canyon, Camp Verde, Camp Verde District, Yavapai Co., Arizona, USA (aragonite pseudomorph after glauberite, cream-yellow LW, MW & SW);
- Bisbee, Warren District, Mule Mts, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA (Patches of bright green fluorescence under SW & patches of bright creamy white fluo LW);
- Long Lake Zinc Mine, Olden Township, Frontenac Co., Ontario, Canada (fluo blue SW in red fluo calcite);
(*)Data are not exhaustive and are limited to the most important localities for fluorescence
Bibliographical Reference for luminescence:
- The Henkel Glossary of Fluorescent Minerals, Dr. Gerhard Henkel, Published by the FMS, 1989 ,
- Fluorescence: Gems and Minerals Under Ultraviolet Light, Manuel Robbins, 1994, Geoscience Press, ISBN 0-945005-13-X ,
- The World of Fluorescent Minerals, Stuart Schneider, Schiffer Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-7643-2544-2 ,
- Luminescence Spectroscopy of Minerals and Materials, M. Gaft, R. Reisfeld, G. Panczer, Springer Editor, ISBN: 10 3-540-21918-8 ,
- Luminescent Spectra of Minerals, Boris S. Gorobets and Alexandre A. Rogojine, Moscow, 2002 ,
- Handbook of Fluorescent Gems and Minerals, a practical guide for the gem and mineral collector, Jack de Ment, 1949 ,
Luminescence Reference on internet:
- MONT-SAINT-HILAIRE, History, Geology, Mineralogy, Laszlo HORVATH, The Canadian Mineralogist, Special Publication 14, 2019
Images:
- Pantoja, Toledo, Spain (Acicular Aragonite bright blue-white LW): http://www.mindat.org/photo-100547.html
- Great Southern Mine, Arizona, USA (with calcite & fluorite): http://www.mindat.org/photo-67554.html
- Great Southern Mine, Arizona, USA (with calcite & fluorite, details): http://www.mindat.org/photo-67557.html
- Agrigento, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy: http://www.mindat.org/photo-415916.html
- Giumentaro Mine, Enna Province, Sicily, Italy: https://www.mindat.org/photo-504841.html
- Bisbee, Arizona, USA: http://www.mindat.org/photo-505652.html
- Long Lake Zinc Mine, Ontario, Canada:
- Nicholsonite: Zinc Mine Friedenville, Pennsylvania, USA (SW): http://www.mindat.org/photo-573241.html
- Nicholsonite: Zinc Mine Friedenville, Pennsylvania, USA (LW): http://www.mindat.org/photo-573242.html
- Nicholsonite: Zinc Mine Friedenville, Pennsylvania, USA (SW): http://www.mindat.org/photo-573244.html
- Nicholsonite: Zinc Mine Friedenville, Pennsylvania, USA (LW): http://www.mindat.org/photo-573245.html
Mineralogical Reference on internet:
http://www.mindat.org/show.php?name=Aragonite
http://webmineral.com/data/Aragonite.shtml
Search on Internet:
Search for images on 'Google Image'
Search for documents in English on Google
Search for documents in any languages on Google
Search on Wikipédia
Note: While all due attention has been paid to the implementation of the database, it may contain errors and/or accidental omissions. By nature, the database will always be incomplete because science always evolves according to new analysis.
A request providing no result means only that no such reference exists in the database, but it does not mean that what you are looking for does not exist, just not to our knowledge. If you think you have found an error or omission, please let us know
via the contact page being sure to cite the source of information.