Lepidolite

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Lepidolite (KLi₂Al(Al,Si)₃O₁₀(F,OH)₂) is a lilac or rose-violet colored phyllosilicate mineral of the mica group that is a secondary source of lithium.^[1] It is associated with other lithium-bearing minerals like spodumene in pegmatite bodies. It is one of the major sources of the rare alkali metals, rubidium and caesium.^[2]

Physical Properties

Color: violet lombo pale pink to white, sometimes gray or yellow.

Luster: vitreous to pearly

Transparency: transparent to translucent.

Crystal System: monoclinic; 2/m.

Crystal Habits: include tabular to prismatic crystals with a prominent pinacoid termination. Lepidolite forms pseudo-hexagonal "books." Also as micaceous or granular masses.

Cleavage: perfect in one direction perpendicular to the c-axis.

Fracture: uneven.

Hardness: 2.5

Specific Gravity: 2.8+

Streak: white

Density:2.8-2.9 Average size 2.84

Associated Minerals: quartz, feldspar, spodumene, amblygonite, tourmaline.

Notable Occurrences: Brazil; Ural Mountains, Russia; California; Tanco Pegmatite, Bernic Lake Manitoba, Canada.

References

1. ^ "Manual of Mineralogy, 20th Ed." by Cornelius Hurlbut and Cornelis Klein.
2. ^ H. Nechamkin, The Chemistry of the Elements, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968.

See also: List of minerals