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Formula: V
Element, iron group. Until recently vanadium was thought not to occur in its native state in
the Earth's crust.
Specific gravity: 6.033 calculated
Colour: Steel grey
Solubility: Resistant to attack by alkalis, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and salt water (ChC)
Abundance: In the Earth’s crust, 120 parts per million by mass, 50 parts per million by moles; in the Solar System, 400 parts per billion
by mass, 9 parts per billion by moles
(ChC)
Environments
When extracted from its ore vanadium is a bright white, soft, ductile metal with good structural strength. When present in compounds,
it exists mostly as V5+
(ChC).
Localities
Vanadium is a new mineral (2016) found in sublimates of high-temperature fumaroles of the Colima volcano, Mexico. The
mineral precipitates over a narrow temperature range of 550–680oC, and occurs in association with
colimaite and shcherbinaite. Native
vanadium was found in natural incrustations and on the inner wall of a silica tube inserted into vents and subsequently in the
adjacent rock of the “Z3 fumarole.” It forms smooth, irregular to flattened crystals, 5–20 μm in diameter with smaller irregular crystals
observed in silica tubes
(AM 101.2783).
Alteration
Vanadium oxidises in air at around 660oC to the pentoxide V2O5
(shcherbinaite when naturally occurring)
(ChC).
Vanadium-bearing minerals include:
Sulphides
patrónite
Sulphosalts
colusite
Oxides
montroseite
navajoite
senaite
shcherbinaite
Sulphates - Minerals that contain the radical (SO4)2-
minasragrite
orthominasragrite
Phosphates - Minerals that contain the radical (PO4)3- or (PO3OH)2-
relianceite-(K)
Vanadates - Minerals that contain the radical (V5+O4)3- or
(V5+O3)-
ammoniomathesiusite
barnesite
bokite
brackebuschite
calciodelrioite
carnotite
clinobisvanite
descloizite
donowensite
dreyerite
fervanite
fianelite
hewettite
kainotropite
margaritasite
martyite
medvedevite
metahewettite
metamunirite
metarossite
metatyuyamunite
mikehowardite
mottramite
munirite
namibite
packratite
palenzonaite
pandoraite-Ba
pandoraite-Ca
pintadoite
pomite
pseudodickthomssenite
pseudopomite
pucherite
pyrobelonite
reznitskyite
rossite
schumacherite
sherwoodite
straczekite
tangeite
turanite
tyuyamunite
udinaite
uvanite
vanadinite
vanoxite
vesignieite
volborthite
wakefieldite-(Ce)
Decavanadates - Minerals that contain the [V10O28]6– polyanion
ammoniolasalite
bluestreakite
burroite
caseyite
huemulite
hummerite
magnesiopascoite
okieite
pascoite
rauvite
schindlerite
wernerbaurite
Sorosilicates - Minerals that contain Si2O7 groups
medaite
Inosilicates
burnettite
Phyllosilicates - Sheet silicates, minerals that contain Si2O5 groups
cavansite
roscoelite
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