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The mineralogy of Rubidium

General Properties
Symbol:	Rb
Atomic Number:	37
Standard atomic weight (A_r):	85.4678(3)
Electron configuration:	[Kr] 5s¹

Photos

<	Rubidium metal sample	>

Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):	0.82
Atomic Radius:	265 pm
Ionic Radius:	152 pm (+1)
1st Ionization energy:	403 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:	-47 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:	1

Physical Properties
Standard State:	solid
Bonding Type:	metallic
Melting Point:	312 K
Boiling Point:	961 K
Density:	1.53 g/cm³
Metal/Non-Metal:	alkali metal

Main isotopes of Rubidium
Isotope	% in Nature	Half Life	Decay type	Decay product
⁸³Rb	synthetic	86.2d	ε	⁸³Kr
⁸⁴Rb	synthetic	32.9d	ε	⁸⁴Kr
			β+	⁸⁴Kr
			β−	⁸⁴Sr
⁸⁵Rb	72.17%	stable
⁸⁶Rb	synthetic	18.65d	β−	⁸⁶Sr
⁸⁷Rb	27.83%	4.9×10¹⁰	β−	⁸⁷Sr

Main ions of Rubidium
Name	Ion	Example minerals
rubidium	Rb⁺	Rubicline

Other Information
Year Discovered:	1861
Discovered By:	Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff
Named For:	From Latin: rubidus - "deepest red"
CPK color coding:	#702EB0
External Links:	Wikipedia WebElements Los Alamos National Laboratory Theodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com

Simple Compounds
Sulfides	dirubidium sulphide	Rb₂S	+1
	dirubidium disulphide	Rb₂S₂	+1
	dirubidium trisulphide	Rb₂S₃	+1
	dirubidium hexaasulphide	Rb₂S₆	+1
	dirubidium pentasulphide	Rb₂S₅	+1
Selenides	dirubidium selenide	Rb₂Se	+1
Tellurides	dirubidium telluride	Rb₂Te	+1
Hydrides	rubidium hydride	HRb	+1
Fluorides	rubidium fluoride	RbF	+1
Chlorides	rubidium chloride	RbCl	+1
Iodides	rubidium iodide	RbI	+1
Oxides	dirubidium oxide	Rb₂O	+1
	rubidium superoxide	RbO₂	+1
	dirubidium peroxide	Rb₂O₂	+1

Mineral Diversity of Rubidium
6. Borates	1 valid mineral species
9. Silicates	2 valid mineral species
Total:	3 valid species containing essential Rubidium

Minerals with the greatest weight % of Rubidium
Rubicline	Rb(AlSi₃O₈)	26.32 %
Ramanite-(Rb)	Rb[B₅O₆(OH)₄]·2H₂O	25.17 %
Voloshinite	Rb(LiAl_1.5◻_0.5)(Al_0.5Si_3.5)O₁₀F₂	19.31 %

Geochemistry of Rubidium
Goldschmidt classification:	Lithophile
Rb⁺ enters later phases in igneous rocks due to its large size.

Elemental Abundance for Rubidium
Crust (CRC Handbook)	9.0 x 10^-5	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)	7.0 x 10^-5	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)	7.8 x 10^-5	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)	3.2 x 10^-5	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Wänke)	7.90 x 10^-5	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Weaver)	6.1 x 10^-5	mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)	1.12 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Shaw)	1.10 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)	1.2 x 10^-7	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)	1.2 x 10^-7	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)	1.1 x 10^-5	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)	7.0 x 10^-6	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)	7.09 x 10^-6 (6.6%)	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)

Element association of Rubidium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Rubidium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements. The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Rubidium and the element listed for that row. The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Rubidium. The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row. Click on a heading to sort.

Element	Valid Minerals listed with element and Rubidium	% of Rb minerals	Relative to % in all minerals
Oxygen	5 minerals with Rb and O	100.00%	23.60% higher
Aluminium	3 minerals with Rb and Al	60.00%	200.49% higher
Silicon	2 minerals with Rb and Si	40.00%	44.88% higher
Boron	2 minerals with Rb and B	40.00%	691.05% higher
Potassium	2 minerals with Rb and K	40.00%	301.95% higher
Caesium	2 minerals with Rb and Cs	40.00%	7,403.03% higher
Vanadium	1 mineral with Rb and V	20.00%	316.84% higher
Hydrogen	1 mineral with Rb and H	20.00%	64.10% lower
Lithium	1 mineral with Rb and Li	20.00%	906.50% higher
Beryllium	1 mineral with Rb and Be	20.00%	830.83% higher
Fluorine	1 mineral with Rb and F	20.00%	152.65% higher
Chlorine	1 mineral with Rb and Cl	20.00%	170.31% higher
Copper	1 mineral with Rb and Cu	20.00%	47.38% higher
Arsenic	1 mineral with Rb and As	20.00%	54.75% higher
Lead	1 mineral with Rb and Pb	20.00%	85.89% higher

Periodic Table

2He

3Li

4Be

Show/hide current element

Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Rb Relative Frequency

Krypton << Rubidium >> Strontium

Most widespread minerals containing Rubidium
This list of minerals containing Rubidium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Rubidium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Most widespread minerals containing Rubidium

This list of minerals containing Rubidium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Rubidium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Name	Formula	Crystal System	Mindat Localities
Rubicline	Rb(AlSi₃O₈)	Monoclinic	8
Voloshinite	Rb(LiAl_1.5◻_0.5)(Al_0.5Si_3.5)O₁₀F₂	Monoclinic	2
Ramanite-(Rb)	Rb[B₅O₆(OH)₄] · 2H₂O	Orthorhombic	1

Photos
Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Voloshinite, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Voloshinite, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Voloshinite, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Voloshinite, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Voloshinite, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Voloshinite, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Photos

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Voloshinite, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Voloshinite, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Voloshinite, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Voloshinite, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Voloshinite, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Voloshinite, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Localities with greatest number of different Rubidium mineral species

1	San Piero in Campo, Campo nell'Elba, Livorno Province, Tuscany, Italy	2 Rb minerals
2	Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia	2 Rb minerals
3	Red Cross Lake pegmatites, Red Cross Lake, Manitoba, Canada	1 Rb minerals
	Luolamäki, Somero, Southwest Finland, Finland	1 Rb minerals
5	High Grade Dyke pegmatite (High-Grade Dike pegmatite), Donner Lake, Cat Lake - Winnipeg River pegmatite field, Lac-du-Bonnet area, Manitoba, Canada	1 Rb minerals
6	Rubellite Dike, Opikeigan Lake Area, Lilypad Lakes pegmatites, Kenora District, Ontario, Canada	1 Rb minerals
7	Lac Moblan pegmatite, Baie-James, Jamésie, Nord-du-Québec, Québec, Canada	1 Rb minerals
8	Murrua (Morrua; Morrua Mine), Mulevala District, Zambezia Province, Mozambique	1 Rb minerals

Significant minerals containing Rubidium

Name	Formula	Crystal System
Londonite	(Cs,K,Rb)Al₄Be₄(B,Be)₁₂O₂₈	Isometric
Masutomilite	K(LiAlMn²⁺)[AlSi₃O₁₀]F₂	Monoclinic
Ramanite-(Rb)	Rb[B₅O₆(OH)₄] · 2H₂O	Orthorhombic
Rubicline	Rb(AlSi₃O₈)	Monoclinic
Rubidium-bearing Muscovite	(K,Rb)Al₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂

Photos
Londonite, etc. Antsongombato gem mine, Antsentsindrano, Anosiarivo Manapa, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar Masutomilite, etc. Mokrusha Mine, Alabashka pegmatite field, Yuzhakovo, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubidium-bearing Muscovite, etc. Vishnyakovskoe Rb-Ta deposit, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia Londonite, etc. Antsongombato gem mine, Antsentsindrano, Anosiarivo Manapa, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar Masutomilite, etc. Mokrusha Mine, Alabashka pegmatite field, Yuzhakovo, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubidium-bearing Muscovite, etc. Vishnyakovskoe Rb-Ta deposit, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia Londonite, etc. Antsongombato gem mine, Antsentsindrano, Anosiarivo Manapa, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar Masutomilite, etc. Mokrusha Mine, Alabashka pegmatite field, Yuzhakovo, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia Rubicline, etc. Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia Rubidium-bearing Muscovite, etc. Vishnyakovskoe Rb-Ta deposit, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Photos

Londonite, etc.

Antsongombato gem mine, Antsentsindrano, Anosiarivo Manapa, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

Masutomilite, etc.

Mokrusha Mine, Alabashka pegmatite field, Yuzhakovo, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubidium-bearing Muscovite, etc.

Vishnyakovskoe Rb-Ta deposit, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Londonite, etc.

Antsongombato gem mine, Antsentsindrano, Anosiarivo Manapa, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

Masutomilite, etc.

Mokrusha Mine, Alabashka pegmatite field, Yuzhakovo, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubidium-bearing Muscovite, etc.

Vishnyakovskoe Rb-Ta deposit, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Londonite, etc.

Antsongombato gem mine, Antsentsindrano, Anosiarivo Manapa, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

Masutomilite, etc.

Mokrusha Mine, Alabashka pegmatite field, Yuzhakovo, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

Rubicline, etc.

Vasin-Myl'k Mt, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Rubidium-bearing Muscovite, etc.

Vishnyakovskoe Rb-Ta deposit, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Spotted a mistake/omission? - These pages are a work in progress, so please send all comments/corrections to jolyon@mindat.org. Thank you.

Constants and physical property data from:

Lide, David R. - Ed. (2005) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data (85th ed.). CRC Press.
National Physical Laboratory (2005) Kaye and Laby Online (discontinued). https://web.archive.org/web/20190506031327/http://www.kayelaby.npl.co.uk/
Kaye, G. W. C.; Laby, T. H. (n.d.) Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants and some Mathematical Functions. Longmans, Green, and Co.
Greenwood, N.N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997) Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth–Heinemann.
Ahrens, Thomas J. - Ed. (1995) Global Earth Physics - A Handbook of Physical Constants - AGU Reference Shelf No. 1. American Geophysical Union.
Railsback, L. Bruce (2003) An earth scientist's periodic table of the elements and their ions. Geology, 31 (9) 737 doi:10.1130/g19542.1
Emsley, John (2001) Nature's Building Blocks - An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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