Bakerite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Bakerite was named to honor Richard C. Baker, of Nutfield, Surrey, England, Mining Director of the Pacific Coast Borax Company, who discovered the mineral.

Discovered in 1903; IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

Ca₄B₄(BO₄)(SiO₄)₃(OH)₃ • H₂O

Hydrated Calcium Boro-silicate Hydroxide

Molecular Weight:

623.65 gm

Composition:

Calcium

25.71 %

Ca

35.97 %

CaO

Silicon

13.51 %

Si

28.90 %

SiO₂

Boron

8.67 %

B

27.91 %

B₂O₃

Hydrogen

0.81 %

H

7.22 %

H₂O

Oxygen

51.31 %

O

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates (Germanates)

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/B.29-20

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.AJ.20

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
A : Nesosilicates
J : Nesosilicates with BO₃ triangles and/or B[4], Be[4] tetrahedra, cornersharing with SiO₄

Related to:

Gadolinite-Datolite Group.

Members of Group:

Gadolinite-Datolite Group: Bakerite, Calciogadolinite-(Y), Calcybeborosilite-(Y), Datolite, Gadolinite-(Ce), Gadolinite-(Y), Hingganite-(Ce), Hingganite-(Y), Hingganite-(Yb), Homilite, Minasgeraisite-(Y)

Varieties:

None

Synonyms:

None

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Monoclinic - Prismatic

Crystal Habit:

Rarely as single crystals, to 0.2 mm, stout, rhombic prisms having oblique terminations or as thin diamond-shaped tablets. As botryoidal and drusy crusts and nodules; most commonly as dense fine-grained aggregates or massive.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

None

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

4.5

Density:

2.88 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless to white

Transparency:

Translucent to Opaque from clay inclusions

Luster:

Vitreous to Porcelaneous

Refractive Index:

1.624 - 1.654  Biaxial ( - ) 

Birefringence:

0.030

Dispersion:

Weak

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

As irregular veins in altered volcanic rock (Baker Canyon, Death Valley, California, USA).

Common Associations:

Natrolite, Thomsonite (Baker Canyon, Death Valley, California, USA); Danburite, Calcite, Stilbite, Datolite, Quartz (Charcas, Mexico)

Common Impurities:

None

Type Locality:

Corkscrew Canyon Mine (Corkscrew Mine), Corkscrew Canyon, Black Mts, Furnace Creek District (Furnace Creek Borate District), Death Valley National Park, Inyo Co., California, USA

Year Discovered:

1903

View mineral photos:

Bakerite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Bakerite is a rare boro-silicate mineral that was discovered in Death Valley, California and is still only found in abundance there. Bakerite is found there in altered volcanic rocks as nodules and veins. Datolite and Howlite, which are also boro-silicates, form similar looking nodules, but Datolite is harder and Howlite is softer. The structure of Bakerite is closely related to that of Datolite. Bakerite is is a relatively soft mineral with a Mohs hardness of only 4.5. It is usually translucent to opaque and often very white with a vitreous to porcelaneous luster.

Distribution: In the USA, in California, the mineral probably never occurred at the type locality given as "16 miles northeast of Daggett" which is Borate, 14 km east of Yermo, San Bernardino County; it more likely was from later authenticated localities in the Black Mountains, west of Furnace Creek, Death Valley, Inyo County; also in the Sterling Borax mine, Tick Canyon, Los Angeles County. Found near Tory Hill, Bancroft, Ontario, Canada. At Charcas, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. From Sivas, Turkey. In Italy, from near Sestri Levante, Liguria.
 

  
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