Fluorescent Mineral Database

A new secret project! Trying to create a nice Fluorescent Mineral Database (FMDB), which would be searchable by mineral, locality, and luminescence properties. Also making it easy for people to contribute with their own specimens!

Colorless beryl, var. goshenite – Xuebaoding Mine, Pingwu, Sichuan, China

Contributed by: Axel Emmermann
minID:
Date: Dec 17th, 2024
Locality: Mount Little Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang, Sichuan, China (See on Mindat)

Description:
Colorless beryl, var. goshenite, which is permeated with very fine scheelite dust and thus fluoresces in shortwave UV. Xuebaoding Mine, Pingwu, Sichuan, China. This spectrum compares the emission of a scheelite specimen to that of beryl var. goshenite. The fluorescence of the beryl crystal is clearly caused by ultrafine scheelite dust that was incorporated during growth. The smaller peaks on the red graph are caused by rare earth elements such as samarium, dysprosium, europium and, around 900 nm, neodymium. Very small traces of those show up in the scheelite that is included in the beryl… just barely visible but clearly there.

Fluorescence under shortwave UV light.
Fluorescence under shortwave UV light.
Normal light.
Normal light.
Fluorescence spectra.
Fluorescence spectra.

Summary of luminescence responses:

Beryl

  • Fluorescence under Shortwave (254nm Lamp/Mercury) UV light: Blue
Scheelite
  • Fluorescence under Shortwave (254nm Lamp/Mercury) UV light: Blue

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