How do I identify Béhierite?

Béhierite can be identified by its hardness of 7 - 7.5 on the Mohs scale, Greyish pink; pale lilac; colorless to white color. Look for these key characteristics when examining specimens.

What color is Béhierite?

Béhierite typically appears in Greyish pink; pale lilac; colorless to white. Color can vary depending on impurities and formation conditions.

How hard is Béhierite?

Béhierite has a hardness of 7 - 7.5 on the Mohs scale. This makes it a relatively hard mineral suitable for jewelry.

Béhierite

A variety of Minerals

What is Béhierite?

Béhierite is a very rare mineral, a natural tantalum borate of the formula (Ta,Nb)BO4. Béhierite is also one of the most simple tantalum minerals. It contains simple tetrahedral borate anions, instead of more common among minerals, planar BO3 groups. It forms a solid solution with its niobium-analogue, schiavinatoite. Both have zircon-type structure (tetragonal, space group I41/amd) and are found in pegmatites. Béhierite and holtite are minerals with essential tantalum and boron. Béhierite was named for Jean Béhier (1903–1965), who discovered the mineral in 1959, as a French mineralogist, active in the Service Géologique, on the island of Madagascar.

Béhierite Market Value Calculator

Estimate the market value of Béhierite using size, quality, and finish. This preview calculator is for quick context and is not a formal appraisal.

Béhierite Localities Map

See where Béhierite is found with a localities map, collecting zones, and geology context. Generate a sample map preview below.

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North ZoneCentral RidgeSouth Basin

Key Characteristics

Formation of Béhierite

Béhierite occurs in granitic pegmatites in Manjaka and Antsongombato, Madagascar. Associated minerals are albite, manganese-bearing apatite-group mineral, lepidolite, elbaite or elbaite–liddicoatite, feldspar, pollucite, quartz, rhodizite, and schiavinatoite.

Composition of Béhierite

Crystal structure of synthetic TaBO4 was refined by Range et al. (1996). As béhierite is analogous to schiavinatoite, their crystal structures are expected to be similar.