Other rare earth carbonate minerals include ancylite , baiyuneboite , burbankite , calcioancylite , calkinsite , carbocernaite , cebaite , cordylite , daqingshanite , donnayite , ewaldite , gysinite , huanghoite , hydroxylbasnasite , khanneshite , kimuraite , lanthanite , parisite , remondite , rontgenite , sahamalite , schuilingite , synchysite , tengerite , thorbastnasite and zhonghuacerite . Bastnasite has cerium, lanthanum and yttrium in its generalized formula but officially the mineral is divided into three minerals based on the predominant rare earth element. Cerium in most natural bastnasites usually far and away dominates the others. Bastnasite and the phosphate mineral monazite are the two largest sources of cerium, an important industrial metal. In fact, the two have been shown to alter back and forth with the addition or loss of CaCO 3 in natural environments.
Bastnasite forms a series with the mineral hydroxylbasnasite .
Not an obviously significant difference, but significant enough to warrant a new mineral. X-ray studies confirm that the hydroxyl ion groups increase the unit cells of the structure and crystallographically and mineralogically this is significant. The structure of bastnasite is made up of stacks of carbonate ion layers and CeF layers. The CeF layers form flat hexagonal sheets with each cerium bonded to three fluorines. The carbonate layers are more complex with angled carbonate triangular groups.