Portsjonide

Portsjonide is a rare manganese oxide mineral that contains vanadium. It is a relatively new mineral to science, first discovered in 1970 in the coal mines of Gürbulak district, Erzurum Province, Turkey. Initially, the mineral was found in associations with gypsum, anhydrite, calcite, and quartz.

The chemical formula of portsjonide is Mn2(OH)5 VO5·3H2O, indicating its composition of manganese hydroxide, vanadate, and water. The mineral has a monoclinic crystal system and can occur in various forms, including tabular or tabular-prismatic crystals.

Portsjonide typically has a pale brown to greenish-brown color and a vitreous luster. It has a relatively low hardness of around 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, making it somewhat easily alterable. Notably, the mineral is quite sensitive to light and moisture, which can cause it to decompose.

The presence of vanadium in portsjonide is significant as it accounts for its name. "Portsjon" is a combination of the mineral names "por" meaning A type of cave and "son" meaning spiller's vanadate, name suggesting it contains a specific divalent vanadium characteristic which is found in other related vanadium bearing manganese minerals.

Portsjonide is one of the several triclinic vanadate characteristic minerals and due to specific physical and chemical properties found in Turkey only have perfect crystal faces required for accurate and reliable mineral identification