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Revision as of 00:11, 30 December 2021 by 126.183.54.169 (talk) (Fixed typo)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Silicate mineral, used in ceramic glazing| Petalite | |
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 Petalite from Minas Gerais State, Brazil (size: 3x4 cm) | |
| General | |
| Category | Phyllosilicate |
| Formula (repeating unit) | LiAlSi4O10 |
| Strunz classification | 9.EF.05 |
| Crystal system | Monoclinic |
| Crystal class | Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) |
| Space group | P2/a |
| Unit cell | a = 11.737 Å, b = 5.171 Å, c = 7.63 Å; β = 112.54°; Z = 2 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Colourless, grey, yellow, pink to white |
| Crystal habit | Tabular prismatic crystals and columnar masses |
| Twinning | Common on {001}, lamellar |
| Cleavage | Perfect on {001}, poor on {201} with 38.5° angle between the two |
| Fracture | Subconchoidal |
| Tenacity | Brittle |
| Mohs scale hardness | 6 – 6.5 |
| Luster | Vitreous, pearly on cleavages |
| Streak | Colourless |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent |
| Specific gravity | 2.4 |
| Optical properties | Biaxial (+) |
| Refractive index | nα=1.504, nβ=1.510, nγ=1.516 |
| Birefringence | δ = 0.012 |
| 2V angle | 82 – 84° measured |
| Melting point | 1350 °C |
| Fusibility | 5 |
| Solubility | Insoluble |
| References | |
Petalite, also known as castorite, is a lithium aluminium phyllosilicate mineral LiAlSi4O10, crystallizing in the monoclinic system. Petalite occurs as colourless, pink, grey, yellow, yellow grey to white tabular crystals and columnar masses. It occurs in lithium-bearing pegmatites with spodumene, lepidolite and tourmaline. Petalite is an important ore of lithium and is converted to spodumene and quartz by heating to ~500 °C and under 3 kbar of pressure in the presence of a dense hydrous alkali borosilicate fluid with a minor carbonate component. Petalite (and secondary spodumen formed from it) is lower in iron than primary spodumene, making it a more useful source of lithium in, e.g., the production of glass. The colourless varieties are often used as gemstones.
Discovery and occurrence
Petalite was discovered in 1800, by Brazilian naturalist and statesman Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva. Type locality: Utö Island, Haninge, Stockholm, Sweden. The name is derived from the Greek word petalon, which means leaf, alluding to its perfect cleavage.
Economic deposits of petalite are found near: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Aracuai, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Karibib, Namibia; Manitoba, Canada and; Bikita, Zimbabwe.
The first important economic application for petalite was as a raw material for the glass-ceramic cooking ware CorningWare. It has been used as a raw material for ceramic glazes.
References
- "Petalite". Digital Fire. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- Handbook of Mineralogy
- Webmineral
- ^ Mindat
- *Hurlbut, Cornelius S. and Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, Wiley, 20th ed., pp. 459–460 ISBN 0-471-80580-7
- Deer, W. A. (2004). Framework silicates: silica minerals, feldspathoids and the zeolites (2. ed.). London: Geological Soc. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-86239-144-4.
- D'Andraba (1800). "Des caractères et des propriétés de plusieurs nouveaux minérauxde Suède et de Norwège , avec quelques observations chimiques faites sur ces substances". Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle, et des Arts. 51: 239.
- Sowerby, James (1811). Exotic mineralogy: Or, Coloured figures of foreign minerals: As a supplement to British mineralogy.
External links
Media related to Petalite at Wikimedia Commons- "Petalite" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). 1911.
