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Petalite



Petalite

General
CategoryMineral
Chemical formulalithium aluminium tectosilicate mineral LiAlSi4O10
Identification
Colorcolorless, grey, yellow, yellow grey, to white
Crystal habittabular prismatic crystals and columnar masses
Crystal systemmonoclinic 2/m.
CleavagePerfect in one plane
FractureSubconchoidal
Mohs Scale hardness6 - 6.5
LusterVitreous, pearly on cleavages
Refractive indexnα=1.504, nβ=1.510, nγ=1.516
StreakColorless
Specific gravity2.4
Fusibility5
SolubilityInsoluble
Other CharacteristicsFluorescent

Petalite, also known as Castorite is a lithium aluminium tectosilicate mineral LiAlSi4O10, crystallizing in the monoclinic system. Petalite is a member of the feldspathoid group. It occurs as colorless, grey, yellow, yellow grey, to white tabular crystals and columnar masses. Occurs in lithium-bearing pegmatites with spodumene, lepidolite, and tourmaline. Petalite is an important ore of lithium. The colorless varieties are often used as gemstones.

Discovered in 1800, type locality: Utö Island, Haninge, Stockholm, Sweden. The name is derived from Greek petalon for leaf.

See also: List of minerals

References

  • Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., ISBN 0-471-80580-7
  • Webmineral
  • Mindat
  • Neab.net
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Petalite". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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