shortite

Shortite is a sodium-calcium carbonate mineral, with the chemical formula Na2Ca2(CO3)3. It was discovered by J. J. Fahey in well cuttings from the Green River Formation, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, US, and was named to honor Maxwell N. Short (1889–1952), Professor of Mineralogy, University of Arizona.

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{{Infobox mineral | name = Shortite | boxbgcolor =#b0ab57 | image = Shortite-20224.jpg | imagesize = 260px | category = Carbonate minerals | formula = Na2Ca2(CO3)3 | IMAsymbol = Sot | strunz = 5.AC.25 | system = Orthorhombic | class = Pyramidal (mm2) H-M symbol: (mm2) | symmetry = Amm2 | colour =Colourless, light yellow, light green |lustre=Vitreous| cleavage =Distinct/good on {010} | fracture =Conchoidal | mohs =3 | diaphaneity =Transparent | gravity =2.6 | density =2.6 | opticalprop =Biaxial (−) | refractive =nα = 1.531 nβ = 1.555 nγ = 1.570 | birefringence =0.039 | dispersion =r 2Ca2(CO3)3. It was discovered by J. J. Fahey in well cuttings from the Green River Formation, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, US, and was named to honor Maxwell N. Short (1889–1952), Professor of Mineralogy, University of Arizona.

Shortite is associated with commercial trona ores, and some care must be taken when beneficiating crude trona to avoid contamination with shortite.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “shortite” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.