'Boehmite' or 'Böhmite' is an aluminium oxide hydroxide (AlO(OH)) mineral, a component of the aluminium ore
bauxite. It is dimorphous with
diaspore. It crystallizes in the
orthorhombic dipyramidal system and is typically massive in habit. It is white with tints of yellow, green, brown or red due to impurities. It has a vitreous to pearly luster, a
Mohs hardness of 3 to 3.5 and a
specific gravity of 3.00 to 3.07. It is colorless in thin section, optically biaxial positive with
refractive indices of nα = 1.644 - 1.648, nβ = 1.654 - 1.657 and nγ = 1.661 - 1.668.
Boehmite occurs in tropical
laterites and bauxites developed on alumino-silicate bedrock. It also occurs as a
hydrothermal alteration product of
corundum and
nepheline.
It was first described in 1927 and named for German geologist
Johann Böhm (1857–1938).
References
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Mineral Data Pub. The University of Arizona
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Webmineral data
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Mindat with location data
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Steven Dutch, 2002, Lepidocrocite and Boehmite Structure, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay