Bluestreakite

bluestreakite

corvusite

montroseite

vanadium

Images

Formula: K4Mg2(V4+2V5+8O28).14H2O
Decavanadate
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 2.630 calculated
Hardness: 2
Streak: Light blue
Colour: Dark greenish blue
Solubility: Slowly soluble in water (days) and easily soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid with immediate loss of colour (Mindat).
Environments

Sedimentary environments

Bluestreakite was approved in 2014, and to date (July 2023) it has been found only at the type locality.

Localities

The type locality is the Blue Streak mine, Bull Canyon Mining District, Montrose county, Colorado, USA. Here, uranium U6+ and vanadium V4+ in weakly alkaline, moderately reducing, CO2-rich ground water, were deposited largely as uraninite and montroseite where the solutions encountered more reducing conditions caused by carbonaceous material and H2S. Subsequent exposure of these deposits to more oxidising near-surface aqueous solutions has resulted in a variety of secondary phases, including secondary vanadium phases containing V4+ and/or V5+.
Bluestreakite was found on corvusite-montroseite bearing sandstone blocks, closely associated with gypsum, huemulite, hummerite, metamunirite and munirite. Other minerals found nearby include calciodelrioite, delrioite, hughesite, magnesiopascoite, metarossite, pascoite, powellite and rossite. Bluestreakite forms as a secondary mineral from the oxidation of montroseite - corvusite assemblages in a moist environment (CM 52.1007-1018).

Back to Minerals