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thorite

Nesosilicate mineral

Instance of: mineral species
1
Sources
1.Stated in The IMA List of Minerals (November 2018)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Subclass of: zircon mineral group
1
Sources
1.Stated in Fleischer’s Glossary of Mineral Species 2014
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, cyclosilicates

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Thorite, (Th,U)SiO4, is a rare nesosilicate of thorium that crystallizes in the tetragonal system and is isomorphous with zircon and hafnon. It is the most common mineral of thorium and is nearly always strongly radioactive. Thorite was discovered in 1828 on the island of Løvøya, Norway, by the vicar and mineralogist, Hans Morten Thrane Esmark. First specimens of thorite were sent to his father, Jens Esmark, who was a professor of mineralogy and geology. It was named in 1829 to reflect its thorium content.

Overview

All data

30 statements · 43% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Nickel-Strunz '10th ed', review of (9th ed/ 2009 update): 9.AD.30
Formula: ThSiO₄
IMA status and/or rank: grandfathered mineral (G)
1
Sources
1.Stated in IMA/CNMNC List of Mineral Names (March 2007)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Nickel-Strunz 9th edition (updated 2009): 9.AD.30
1
Sources
1.Stated in mineralienatlas.de
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Space group: space group I4₁/amd
1
Sources
1.Stated in mineralienatlas.de
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Crystal system: tetragonal crystal system
1
Sources
1.Stated in mineralienatlas.de
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Named after: thorium
1
Sources
1.Stated in A Dictionary of the Names of Minerals
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IMA Mineral Symbol: Thr
1
Sources
1.Stated in IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Strunz 8th edition (series ID, updated): VIII/A.07
1
Sources
1.Stated in Mineralogische Tabellen : Eine Klassifizierung der Mineralien auf kristallchemischer Grundlage, mit einer Einfuhrung in die Kristallchemie (1982)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Density: 6,661.04 kg/m³ temperature: 0 K · state of matter: solid
Bulk modulus: 163B Pa
Shear modulus: 58.1B Pa
Poisson's ratio: 0.34
Point group: ditetragonal-dipyramidal

On other databases

15 identifiers linking thorite across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

43%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 11, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). thorite (Q414989). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/thorite-Q414989