Allendeite

Sc4Zr3O12
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Aed
IMA approved
2007
Also known as
  • Allendeiet
  • Allendeitt
  • IMA2007-027

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

Found in the Allende meteorite as micro- to nano-crystals in an ultrarefractory inclusion, ACM-1.

Type locality
Allende meteorite
  1. Pueblito de Allende
  2. Chihuahua
  3. Mexico

26.9667°, -105.3167°

2recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Physical

Density
4.84 g/cm³

Crystallography

Crystal system
Trigonal
Space group
#80
Cell parameters
a = 9.396 Å · c = 8.720 Å
Unit cell volume
666.7 ų
Z
3
Twinning

None observed.

Type-locality form

Anhedral grains up to 15 × 25 μm in size. Also linked and isolated 1–5 μm irregular grains.

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
40ZrZirconiumZirconium391.224273.672
42.40%
8OOxygenOxygen1215.999191.988
29.74%
21ScScandiumScandium444.956179.824
27.86%
Total645.484100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • Allendeiet
  • Allendeitt
  • IMA2007-027

In other languages

German
Allendeit · IMA 2007-027
Italian
allendeite
Arabic
ألندييت

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

4.CC

  • 4OxidesClass
  • 4.CMetal: Oxygen = 2: 3,3: 5, and similarDivision
  • 4.CCWith large and medium-sized cationsGroup
  • 4.CCAllendeiteSpecies
Dana
8th ed.

04.06.08

  • 04Simple OxidesClass
  • 04.06MiscellaneousType
  • 04.06.08— unnamed intermediate level —Group
  • 04.06.08AllendeiteSpecies

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 1965Collongues, Robert; Qucyroux, Francine; Jorba, Monique Perez y; Gilles, Jean Claude (1965) Structure and properties of the compounds of rare earth oxides with oxides of the Group IV elements. Bulletin de la Societe Chimique de France: 1965: 1141-1149.
  2. 1968Thornber, M. R.; Bevan, D. J. M.; Graham, J. (1968) Mixed oxides of the type MO2 (fluorite)–M2O3. III. Crystal structures of the intermediate phases Zr5Sc2O13 and Zr3Sc4O12. Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry, 24 (9). 1183-1190 doi:10.1107/s0567740868003948DOI: 10.1107/s0567740868003948
  3. 1976Rossell, H.J. (1976) Crystal structures of some fluorite-related M7O12 compounds. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 19 (2). 103-111 doi:10.1016/0022-4596(76)90156-0DOI: 10.1016/0022-4596(76)90156-0
  4. 1989Magunov, R.L., Shklyar, G.L., Katridi, V.F. (1989) The phase diagrams of the zirconia (hafnia)-scandium sesquioxide systems. Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Neorganicheskie Materialy: 25: 1224-1226.
  5. 1991Red'ko, V.P., Lopato, L.M. (1991) Crystal structure of rare earth zirconates M4Zr3O12 and hafnates M4Hf3O12 (M = rare earth). Neorganicheskie Materialy: 27: 1905-1910.
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Allendeite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/allendeite-32284},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}