Samarskites

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of rare brownish-black radioactive minerals composed mainly of iron, calcium, rare earths, uranium, and thorium ; crystalline substances occurring in granitic and syenitic rocks ; sources of valuable elements such as niobium and tantalum
2. Rare, complex oxide minerals with a dark color, containing metals like iron, yttrium, uranium, and lanthanides ; crystals found in certain igneous rocks ; important ores for extracting rare elements
3. Uncommon, darkly colored crystalline minerals rich in iron, rare earth elements, uranium, and thorium ; typically embedded in granite-related formations ; serve as significant sources for metals like niobium, tantalum, and yttrium

Etymology: Samarskite is a mineral named for Vasilii Evgrafovich Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mining official who, in 1847, was the person the mineral was named after. The name honours him because he was the mine official who had access to the specimen, which came from the Urals. Its plural, "samarskites," is simply the form used when speaking of more than one specimen or variety of the mineral.