Billietite Mineral Data

General Billietite Information

Chemical Formula:

Ba(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 2,067.66 gm

Barium 6.64 % Ba 7.42 % BaO

Uranium 69.07 % U 78.36 % UO₂

Hydrogen 1.07 % H 9.58 % H₂O

Oxygen 23.21 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 95.36 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Ba(UO₂)₆O₄(OH)₆•8(H₂O)

Environment:

Occurs as an uncommon product of uraninite.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1947

Locality:

At Shinkolobwe and the Musonoi mine, Kolwezi, Shaba Province, Congo (Zaire). Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Valere Louis Billiet (1903-1944), Belgian crystallographer, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.

Name Pronunciation:

Billietite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 202478

PDF 29-218

Billietite Image

Images:

Billietite

Comments: Clear, yellow crystal of billietite.
Location: Shinkolobwe mine, Tantara, Shaba, Dem. Repub. Congo. Scale: Size Not Given.
© Lou Perloff / Photo Atlas of Minerals

Images:

Studtite Billietite

Comments: Acicular, white sprays of studtite crystals on yellow, tabular billietite.
Location: Shinkolobwe mine, Tantara, Shaba, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Scale: Not Given.
© Lou Perloff / Photo Atlas of Minerals

Billietite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.4003:1:0.2368

Cell Dimensions:

a = 12.0941, b = 30.211, c = 7.1563, Z = 4; V = 2,614.73 Den(Calc)= 5.25

Crystal System:

Orthorhombic - Pyramidal H-M Symbol (mm2) Space Group: Pbn21

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 7.56(1), 3.183(0.35), 3.78(0.25),

Physical Properties of Billietite

Cleavage:

{001} Perfect

Color:

Yellow brown, Golden yellow.

Density:

5.27 - 5.29, Average = 5.27

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Adamantine

Streak:

yellow

Optical Properties of Billietite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.24 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.247 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1502,KPDmeas= 0.1493,KC= 0.1204
Ncalc = 1.63 - 1.64

Optical Data:

Biaxial (?), a=1.76, b=1.8, g=1.805, bire=0.0450, 2V(Calc)=38, 2V(Meas)=37.

Calculated Properties of Billietite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=4.44 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Billietite =5.28 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.01
Boson Index = 0.99

Photoelectric:

PE_Billietite=1,893.82 barns/electron
U=PE_Billietite x r_electron=8,414.80 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 4,954,580.62 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Concentration of Billietite per GRapi unit = 201.83 (PPB)

Billietite is Radioactive as defined in 49 CFR 173.403. Greater than 70 Bq / gram.

Estimated Maximum U.S. Postal Shipping Size (10 mRem/hr limit, Unshielded 10 cm box) 6.14 ± 1.53 grams of pure Billietite .
Estimated Maximum U.S. Postal Shipping Size (10 mRem/hr limit, Unshielded 100 cm box) 613.91 ±153.48 grams of pure Billietite .

**Estimated Radioactivity from Billietite** - very strong
Specimen Size Weight/Volume (Sphere) *	Calculated Activity Bequerols (Bq)	Calculated Activity Curies (Ci)	Estimated Activity GR(api)	Estimated Exposure (mRem**)/hr If Held in Hand For One Hour
1000 gm / 7.13 cm	123,638,993	3.34E-03	4,954,580.62	1,628.90
100 gm / 3.31 cm	12,363,899	3.34E-04	495,458.06	162.89
10 gm / 1.54 cm	1,236,390	3.34E-05	49,545.81	16.29
1 gm / 7.13 mm	123,639	3.34E-06	4,954.58	1.63
0.1 gm / 3.31 mm	12,364	3.34E-07	495.46	0.16
0.01 gm / 1.54 mm	1,236	3.34E-08	49.55	0.02
0.001 gm / 0.71 mm	124	3.34E-09	4.95	0.00

Weight of pure Billietite in grams (gm) and Calculated Diameter of a Sphere with a Density of 5.28 gm/cc.*
Goverment Estimate of Average Annual Exposure ( 360 mRem) **
Note: 10 microsieverts/hr = 1 mRem/hr **
Max Permissable Adult Dose 50,000 mRem/yr (hands), 15,000 mRem/yr (eyes)
Lethal Dose LD(50) Exposure 400,000 to 500,000 mRem

Billietite Classification

Dana Class:

05.07.01.03 (05)Oxides Containing Uranium and Thorium

(05.07)with alkaline or hydrated hydroxide components

(05.07.01)Becquerelite Group

05.07.01.01 Compreignacite K2(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O) Pnmn 2/m 2/m 2/m

05.07.01.02 Becquerelite Ca(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O) Pn21a mm2

05.07.01.03 Billietite Ba(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O) Pbn21 mm2

Strunz Class:

04.GB.10 04 - OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodate

04.G - Uranyl Hydroxides

04.GB -With additional cations (K, Ca, Ba, Pb, etc.); with mainly UO2(O,OH)5 pentagonal polyhedra

04.GB.10 Billietite Ba(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O) Pbn21 mm2

04.GB.10 Becquerelite Ca(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O) Pn21a mm2

04.GB.10 Protasite Ba(UO2)3O3(OH)2•3(H2O) Pn m

Other Billietite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic3) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Billietite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - Uranium Minerals
16 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Billietite

Ba(UO2)6O4(OH)6•8(H2O)
Dana No: 05.07.01.03 Strunz No: 04.GB.10
Locality:

Notes:

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