- Chemistry: Na3(HCO3)(CO3) - 2H2O , Hydrated Sodium Bicarbonate
Carbonate. - Class: Carbonates - Uses: Only as mineral
specimens. Trona is the type mineral so-to-speak for several
sodium carbonates that form in non-marine evaporite deposits.
Other sodium carbonates include Trona is probably the most
common and well known of these minerals. They are all difficult
to tell apart from each other except when good crystal form is
present or when optical or X-ray techniques can be used. All are
subject to dehydration and/or hydration to one degree or another
and should be stored in sealed containers for this reason. All
may form as efflorescent crusts on the walls of caves and mines
or in soils in arid regions. Trona gets its name from a
discarded Arabic word for native salt, "tron", which is derived
from the word "natrun". - Color is gray, colorless, white, pale
brown or yellowish. - Luster is vitreous. - Transparency:
Crystals are transparent to translucent. - Crystal System is
monoclinic; 2/m. - Crystal Habits i