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Suolunite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  Ca₂[H₂Si₂O₇] · H₂O

Discovered in 1965;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).
Suolunite is named after its discovery locality, Suolun massif, Inner Mongolia, China.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/C.09-40

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.BE.10

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
B : Sorosilicates
E : Si₂O₇ groups, with additional anions; cations in octahedral [6] and greater coordination

Related to:

Tilleyite - Foshallasite Series

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Orthorhombic - Pyramidal

Crystal Habit:

As coarse-bladed crystals, to 3 mm, in stellate aggregates; fine-granular massive.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

None

Fracture:

n/a

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

3.5

Density:

2.63 - 2.68 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Distinctly piezoelectric

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless, White, Cream, Honey Yellow

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Vitreous to Resinous, Waxy

Refractive Index:

1.610 - 1.623  Biaxial ( - )

Birefringence:

0.0130

Dispersion:

Relatively Strong

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In veins cutting harzburgites in an ultramafic intrusive (Suolun, China); as a precipitate from an alkaline spring in a fault zone in basalts overlying an ultramafic intrusive (Al Khawd, Oman).

Common Associations:

Tobermorite

Common Impurities:

Sr, Na, K

Type Locality:

Suolun massif, Horqin Right Front Banner, Xing'an League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

Year Discovered:

1965

View mineral photos:

Suolunite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Suolunite is a very rare calcium silicate mineral that forms deep within the Earth's crust near the mantle. Cystals are found in grayish-blue, honey yellow and colorless. This mineral is also distincly piezoelectric. The only sources are Suolun, Inner Mongolia, China and Kulaski, near Doboj, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Al Khawd, near Masqat, Oman. Gems are extremely rare.
 

  
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