Database of luminescent Minerals

MILARITE

Chemical Formula: KCa₂AlBe₂Si₁₂O₃₀ 0,5H₂O

Familly: Silicates

Status: IMA-GP

Crystal System: Hexagonal

Mineral for Display: No

Luminescence:

Phosphorescence (in the common meaning of the term) seen by naked eye:

Main Activator(s) and spectrum:

Most Common Activator: Ce³⁺

Other activators:            Pb²⁺ , Fe³⁺ , Eu²⁺ , Mn²⁺ ,

Peaks in the spectrum (nm):

Ce³⁺ replacing Ca²⁺ : 340, 360 - 365 nm 

Eu²⁺ repl. Ca²⁺ : 405 - 406 nm

Mn²⁺ repl.Ca²⁺ : 550 nm, 560 - 561 nm (excitation: 532nm)

Pb²⁺ (?) : 292 nm

Fe³⁺ : 755nm  (excitation: 532nm)

Comments on activators and spectra:

Ce³⁺, Eu²⁺ and Mn²⁺ centers characterize steady-state luminescence spectra of milarite (Gorobets and Rogojine 2001). Time-resolved luminescence spectra are characterized by short lived Ce³⁺, Eu²⁺, and possibly Pb²⁺ .

Excitation by CW laser with 532 and 785 nm revealed several luminescence bands and lines supposedly connected to Mn²⁺, Fe³⁺and Nd³⁺ .

Best Locality for luminescence(*):

• Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada; (weak to strong bluish-white SW+MW);
• Guanajuato, Mexico (bright green SW and LW);
• Old Mine Plaza construction site, Long Hill, Trumbull, Fairfield Co., Connecticut, USA (sky-blue MW);

(*)Data are not exhaustive and are limited to the most important localities for fluorescence

Bibliographical Reference for luminescence:

• Fluorescence: Gems and Minerals Under Ultraviolet Light, Manuel Robbins, 1994, Geoscience Press, ISBN 0-945005-13-X ,
• Luminescent Spectra of Minerals, Boris S. Gorobets and Alexandre A. Rogojine, Moscow, 2002 ,
• Mt St Hilaire Website: http://www.saint-hilaire.ca ,

Luminescence Reference on internet:

• MONT-SAINT-HILAIRE, History, Geology, Mineralogy, Laszlo HORVATH, The Canadian Mineralogist, Special Publication 14, 2019

Mineralogical Reference on internet:

  http://www.mindat.org/show.php?name=Milarite

  http://webmineral.com/data/Milarite.shtml

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