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Monazite

Introduction
 

	Monazite is actually three different minerals: Monazite-(Ce), Monazite-(La) and Monazite-(Nd). The three Monazites differ only in the percentages of their chemical makeup and this is reflected in their respective names. However, as these differences are not great, they are referred to as one mineral.
	Monazite comes from a Greek word “Monazein”, which means “to be alone”, in reference to both its rarity (when first discovered) and its isolated individual crystals.

Monazite crystals are generally simple prismatic crystals that clearly show their monoclinic symmetry. Twinning (i.e. crystals growing within crystals) is common in Monazite and produces crosses and angled reentrant crystals.
 

Monazite is found in association with Apatite, Columbite, Zircon, Xenotime, Fergusonite, Samarskite, Feldspars, Quartz, Euxinite, Polycrase and Biotite.
 

Monazite is a primary ore of several rare earth metals like Thorium, Cerium and Lanthanum. All these metals have various industrial uses and are considered quite valuable, making Monazite an extremely important ore mineral.
 

Monazite crystals are durable and can be weathered out from their host rocks and carried downstream great distances, collecting in river and ocean beach deposits.
 

Monazite is yellow to brown or orange-brown in color and is found in beach and river sand deposits in India, Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nigeria, U.S.A., Madagascar, Norway, Austia, Switzerland, Brazil and Finland.