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Formula: BeY(SiO4)(OH)
Nesosilicate (insular SiO4 groups),
gadolinite subgroup,
gadolinite group,
gadolinite supergroup,
beryllium and yttrium bearing mineral
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 4.42 to 4.57 measured, 4.45 calculated
Hardness: 6 to 7
Streak: White
Colour: Green, Yellow brown, White, Light blue, Light yellow
Environments
Hingganite-(Y) generally occurs in granite pegmatites
(Dana).
Localities
The type locality is an unnamed rare-metal deposit at Qiqihaer, Heilongjiang, China.
At the Trimouns quarry, France, hingganite-(Y) has been found in vugs in dolomite
(MinRec 35.3.237-238).
At the Suishoyama pegmatite, Iizaka Village, Kawamata, Date District, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, hingganite-(Y) occurs with
quartz, feldspar,
mica, cassiterite,
stokesite, fluorite,
chlorite and titanite
(Dana). The hingganite-(Y) is found in the same environment as iimoriite
(Minrec 35.3.237-238).
At Tawara (Tahara), Hirukawa, Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, hingganite-(Y) is associated with
hingganite-(Ce), quartz,
K-feldspar, albite,
zinnwaldite, cassiterite,
stokesite, fluorite,
chlorite and titanite
(HOM).
At Mount Malosa, Malawi, hingganite-(Y) is associated with aegirine,
zircon and quartz
(HOM).
At the Kola peninsula, Russia, hingganite-(Y) occurs in a granite pegmatite with
muscovite, spodumene and
pyrochlore
(Dana).
At Fabova hoľa, Pohronská Polhora, Brezno District, Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia, two contrasting reaction coronae
were developed around rare earth element accessory phosphates in
metagranitic
rocks, which have been overprinted.
Monazite-(Ce) breakdown resulted in
fluorapatite ± thallium-silicate
+ allanite-(Ce) + clinozoisite
coronae. The alteration of xenotime-(Y) produced a novel type of
secondary coronal micro-texture consisting of a massive
fluorapatite mantle zone and tiny satellite crystals of
hellandite-(Y) and hingganite-(Y) of ~1–5 μm, and rarely up to
10 μm in size.
The granitic rocks underwent burial metamorphism under
greenschist to lower
amphibolite facies conditions. Subsequently,
post-collisional uplift and exhumation was accompanied by a retrograde metamorphic overprint; the activity of external
fluids caused the formation of secondary coronae minerals around
monazite-(Ce) and xenotime-(Y).
A portion of boron (± beryllium) should
have been liberated from the metagranite
feldspars, micas or
xenotime-(Y) enriched in
schiavinatoite or béhierite
components. However, the principal source of boron and
beryllium in fluids necessary for the production of
hellandite and hingganite, was
probably of external origin from adjacent magmatic, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks
(MM 86.4.586–605).
At Fairview, Stove Mountain, El Paso County, Colorado, USA, vugs in quartz
veins host chalky, light tan, 0.5 cm crystals of hingganite-(Y)
associated with crystals of clear quartz,
magnetite, pyrite,
hematite and bertrandite
(R&M 97.5.418).
At the North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA, hingganite-(Y) is
exceedingly rare and occurs as aggregates of
colourless, cream-colored, or light brown
monoclinic prismatic crystals, up to 4 mm long, associated with masses of etched purple
fluorite
(R&M 97.3.224).
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