Common Borate Minerals Kernite–Na2B4O7.4H2O Borax— Na2B4O7.10H2O Ulexite–NaCaB5O9.8H2O Colemanite–Ca2B5O11.5H2O The links above will take you to the Mineral Gallery website (http://www.galleries.com).

The minerals that make up the borates have similarities with the silicates: they have a structure to the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron (BO3) they are capable of forming chains, sheet, or isolated groups The tendency of the borates is to form disordered networks of BO3 triangles instead of the framework network of the silicates. This makes borate minerals useful in the preparation of special glasses of light weight and high transparency to energetic radiation. There are nearly 100 sulfosalts but many are rare.

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Mineral Groups