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Reidite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  Zr(SiO₄)  [Zirconium Silicate]

Discovered in 2001;   IMA status: Valid (IMA approved 2001).
Reidite is named in honor of Alan F. Reid who first produced this high pressure phase in the laboratory.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/A.09-15

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.AD.45

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
A : Nesosilicates
D : Nesosilicates without additional anions; cations in [6] and/or greater coordination

Related to:

Zircon - Thorogummite Series. A high-pressure polymorph of Zircon with the Scheelite structure.

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Tetragonal - Dipyramidal

Crystal Habit:

Skeletal crystals up to 10 µm in length and 0.3 µm in width.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

None Observed

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

7.5

Density:

5.2 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless, White

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Adamantine

Refractive Index:

1.640 - 1.655  Uniaxial ( + )

Birefringence:

0.0150

Dispersion:

n/a

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In upper Eocene impact ejecta layer, probably from the Chesapeake Bay impact structure in shock-metamorphosed Zircons.

Common Associations:

Coesite, Shocked Feldspar, Shocked Quartz, Stishovite, Tektites

Common Impurities:

Coesite, Stishovite

Type Locality:

Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 612, Upper continental slope of New Jersey, Atlantic Ocean

Year Discovered:

2001; IMA approved 2001

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Reidite is an extremely rare mineral and gem. It is a high-pressure polymorph of Zircon with the Scheelite structure. Reidite has been found in an upper Eocene impact ejecta layer in marine sediments on the upper continental slope off New Jersey and Barbados and occurs in shock-metamorphosed Zircons. It is associated with impact glass (Tektites), shocked Quartz and Feldspar with multiple sets of planar deformation features, Coesite, and trace amounts of Stishovite. Reidite was first produced in high-pressure laboratory experiments in 1969 and has also been produced in shock recovery experiments.
 

  
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