Gowerite Mineral Data

General Gowerite Information

Chemical Formula:

CaB6O10•5(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 355.01 gm

Calcium 11.29 % Ca 15.80 % CaO

Boron 18.27 % B 58.83 % B₂O₃

Hydrogen 2.84 % H 25.37 % H₂O

Oxygen 67.60 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

CaB₆O₁₀•5(H₂O)

Environment:

Lacusterine limestone deposits containing borate minerals.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1959

Locality:

Mott open cut, head of 20 mule Team Canyon, Death Valley, Inyo Co. California. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Harrison Preston Gower (1890-1967), Mining Manager, U.S. Borax and Chemical Company, USA.

Name Pronunciation:

Gowerite

Synonym:

ICSD 22047

PDF 12-528

Gowerite Image

Images:

Gowerite

Comments: Coatings of acicular radiating crystal clusters of gowerite.
Location: Furnace Creek, Death Valley, Inyo County, California, USA. Scale: See Photo.
© Jeff Weissman / Photographic Guide to Mineral Species

Gowerite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.6725:1:0.401

Cell Dimensions:

a = 11.03, b = 16.4, c = 6.577, Z = 4; beta = 90.933° V = 1,189.57 Den(Calc)= 1.98

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - Prismatic H-M Symbol (2/m) Space Group: P 2₁/n,P 2₁/a

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 8.2(1), 3.19(0.45), 9.2(0.25),

Physical Properties of Gowerite

Cleavage:

{100} Indistinct, {001} Distinct

Color:

Colorless, White.

Density:

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Fracture:

Brittle - Uneven - Very brittle fracture producing uneven fragments.

Hardness:

3 - Calcite

Luminescence:

Fluorescent, Short UV=weak blue white, Long UV=weak blue white.

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Gowerite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.04 (Good) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.051 (Good) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2584,KPDmeas= 0.2558,KC= 0.2459
Ncalc = 1.49

Optical Data:

Biaxial (+), a=1.484, b=1.501, g=1.55, bire=0.0660

Pleochroism (x):

colorless.

Pleochroism (y):

colorless.

Pleochroism (z):

colorless.

Calculated Properties of Gowerite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.03 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Gowerite =2.00 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.03
Boson Index = 0.97

Photoelectric:

PE_Gowerite= 1.65 barns/electron
U=PE_Gowerite x rElectron Density= 3.35 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Gowerite is Not Radioactive

Gowerite Classification

Dana Class:

26.05.08.01 (26)Hydrated Borates Containing Hydroxyl or Halogen

(26.05)Dana Type

(26.05.08)Dana Group

26.05.08.01 Gowerite CaB6O10•5(H2O) P 2₁/n,P 2₁/a 2/m

Strunz Class:

06.EC.10 06 - BORATES

06.E - Pentaborates

06.EC -Phyllo-pentaborates

06.EC.10 Gowerite CaB6O10•5(H2O) P 2₁/n,P 2₁/a 2/m

Other Gowerite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic5) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Gowerite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Gowerite Specimen Label here :

Gowerite

CaB6O10•5(H2O)
Dana No: 26.05.08.01 Strunz No: 06.EC.10
Locality:

Notes:

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