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www.mineralgallery.co.za Minerals A - E |
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Amblygonite |
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Name
Amblygonite
Chemistry
(Li, Na)AlPO4(F, OH)
Uses
Gemstones, mineral specimens, lithium salts, phosphorus
Color
Beige, blue, colorless, greenish, milky-white, yellow, pale shades of violet, grey or pink
Hardness
5.5 - 6
Specific gravity
3.0
Crystals
Triclinic
Accompanied by:
Albite, Apatite, Beryllonite, Brazilianite, Cassiterite, Elbaite, Lepidolite, Lithiophilite, Montebrasite, Quartz, Spodumene, Topaz, Triphylite
Fracture
Uneven to conchoidal
Luster
Vitreous to greasy and pearly on cleavage surfaces
Cleavage
Lamelar cleavage, [100] perfect, [110] good, [011]distinct, fracture uneven.
Streak
White
Similar to:
Brazilianite, Labradorite, Orthoclase
Amblygonite was first by A. Breithaupt in Saxony in 1817. It got the name from the Greek word amblygonios (that means blunt angle), referring to the cleavage angle which is slightly 90° and to the shape of the crystal. Amblygonite has no less than four different directions of cleavage at different angles from one another and with different qualities of cleavage.
Amblygonite is a phosphate containing lithium, sodium, aluminum, fluorine, and hydroxyl mineral. It is mainly found in granite with massive white cleavable masses in complex pegmatites and pneumalytic dykes.
When powdered Amblygonite is put in a gas flame, it gives the flame a bright red color (this indicates the presence of Lithium). This is why Amblygonite is used as a source of lithium salts.
It sometimes resemble light yellow feldspars (like Labradorite or Orthoclase). It is kind of constants to Brazilianite, but the color is usually a much more intense greenish/ yellow. It's translucent and has a vitreous luster and the color varies from white to pale shades of violet, grey, green or yellow. Some specimens are fluorescent orange in long-wave UV light.
Gem quality Amblygonite is mined in parts of Brazil..
