Cerite is a complex silicate mineral group containing cerium, formula .[http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/ceritece.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy] The cerium and lanthanum content varies with the Ce rich species (cerite-(Ce)) and the La rich species (cerite-(La)).[http://www.mindat.org/min-931.html Mindat Cerite-(Ce)][http://www.mindat.org/min-26408.html Mindat Cerite-(La)] Analysis of a sample from the Mountain Pass carbonatite gave 35.05% and 30.04% .[
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Cerite was first described in 1803 for an occurrence in Bastnäs in Västmanland, Sweden.[http://webmineral.com/data/Cerite-(Ce).shtml Webmineral (Ce)] The lanthanum rich species, cerite-(La) was first described for an occurrence in the Khibina massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia in 2002.[http://webmineral.com/data/Cerite-(La).shtml Webmineral (La)]
See also
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Classification of minerals
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List of minerals
External links
