Colorado Rare Earth Minerals Options

[MikeS]

What time is it?.... IT'S XENOTIME!!!

While we were diggin on the claim on Monday, my longtime friend (and co-owner) was getting into a nice pocket of gemmy smokies when he found a odd crystal we had never seen before. We suspected Zircon because of the crystal shape and it felt very heavy. After a specific gravity test it appears to be Xenotime. It is also on the heavy side of Xenotime which would suggest that the Yttrium in it has been replaced with a heavier mineral/element like Uranium or Thorite. It may have mild radioactivity. If I get the chance to test it for radiation I'll post results. If your wondering how to pronounce Xenotime here is a link with audio: Oxford Dictionaries





The crew and I just before the rare find. (I'm on the left)

[MikeS]

After months of intense mineral investigations we think we have identified another Rare Earth Mineral on some of our finds from 2014. After several baths in SIO some of our quartz and feldspar showed "micro balls" on them that were yellow to red color, and that are translucent to transparent. The tiny specimens have a greasy luster and seem to have a conchoidal fracture. Without more advanced tests the most likely mineral that "fits the bill" may be more rare than Xenotime-(Y).

Here are some pics of what we believe is Florencite-(Ce)
(Not to be confused with Fluocerite-(Ce). )