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Leucophanite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Leucophanite is named from the Greek words leucos for "white" and phanein "to appear" in allusion to white, its most common color.

Discovered in 1840;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

CaNa₂Be₂Si₄O₁₂(F,OH)₂

Sodium Calcium Beryllium Silicate Hydroxide Fluoride

Molecular Weight:

235.92 gm

Composition: 

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates (Germanates)

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/C.02-50

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.DH.05

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
H : Inosilicates with 4-periodic single chains, Si₄O₁₂

Related to:

Fresnoite Group. Melilite - Fresnoite Series

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Triclinic - Pedial

Crystal Habit:

Short prismatic to tabular pseudotetragonal crystals, to 3 cm. In radiating ¯brous spherulites; massive.

Twinning:

Penetration fourlings; polysynthetic || {110}

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

{001}, Perfect; {100}, {010}, and {201}, Distinct

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven, Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Very Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

3.5 - 4.0

Density:

2.96 - 3.07 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

May fluoresce pink or violet-blue in SW and LW UV; strongly phosphorescent

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Pyroelectric. May be Triboluminescent with orange-red light (http://www.mindat.org/mesg-6-204391.html)

Optical Properties

Color:

Whitish Green, Greenish White, deep Green with a Yellow tinge, Wine-Yellow

Transparency:

Semi-Transparent

Luster:

Vitreous

Refractive Index:

1.565 - 1.598  Biaxial ( - )

Birefringence:

0.027

Dispersion:

Weak; r > v

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In pegmatites in augite syenite (Langesundsfjord, Norway); in albitization zones in pegmatites at the contact of alkalic massifs intruding Proterozoic carbonaceous quartz-sericite schists (Baikal massif, Russia).

Common Associations:

Aegirine, Albite, Analcime, Ancylite, Astrophyllite, Catapleiite, Epididymite, Fluorite, Natrolite, Orthoclase, Polylithionite, Rhodochrosite, Sérandite

Common Impurities:

Al, Fe, Mg, K, H₂O

Type Locality:

Låven (Skådön; Lamö; Lamanskjaer), Langesundsfjorden, Larvik, Vestfold, Norway

Year Discovered:

1840

View mineral photos:

Leucophanite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Leucophanite is a very rare beryllium silicate that was first discovered at the mines of Langesundsfjord district of Norway, a classic mineral locality filled with rare minerals. It is a member of the Fresnoite Group of minerals. Leucophanite may fluoresce pink or violet-blue in SW and LW UV and is strongly phosphorescent. It is also pyroelectric, meaning it has the ability to generate an electrical potential when heated or cooled.

The four main locations for finding Leucophanite are the Langesundsfjord and other locations in Norway; in Russia at the Lovozero massif, Kola Peninsula; from Narssârssuk, Greenland; and at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada where some of the best specimens are found.
 

  
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