bastnäsite Min.
(ˈbæstneɪsaɪt)
[a. F. bastnaesite (1841), f. the place-name Bastnäs, Sweden, its locality: see -ite1 2 b.]
A fluo-carbonate of cerium, occurring in small embedded masses, with a greasy lustre and wax-yellow colour.
| 1872 G. J. Brush in Dana's Syst. Min. (ed. 5) App. 1914 Brit. Mus. Return 229 Crystals of betafite, bastnasite, columbite [etc.]. 1967 New Scientist 3 Aug. 253/1 All the europium obtained in Britain is extracted from an ore known as bastnaesite, imported from deposits at Mountain Pass, California. |