|
Click on a
letter above to view the list of gems. |
|
| Chemistry:
Na2ZrSi4O11
[] | Discovered
in 1961;
IMA
status: Valid (IMA approved). Vlasovite
is named in
honor of the Russian mineralogist and geochemist Kuzma
Alekseevich Vlasov (1905-1964), founder of the Institute
of Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Crystal Chemistry of
Rare Elements, Moscow, Russia. |
|
Classification
|
|
|
Mineral
Classification: |
Silicates |
Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
|
8/F.34-20
|
Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
|
9.DM.25 |
|
9 : SILICATES (Germanates) D : Inosilicates M :
Inosilicates with 6-periodic single chains
|
Related
to: |
Grumantite - Penkvilksite Series
|
|
|
Crystal
Data
|
|
|
Crystallography:
|
Monoclinic
- Prismatic
|
Crystal
Habit:
|
As crystals,
to 15 cm; more commonly as subrounded to irregularly
shaped grains and aggregates of such grains.
|
Twinning:
|
Twin
plane [010], uncommon.
|
|
|
Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
[1011]
Distinct/Good
|
Fracture: |
Irregular/Uneven
to Conchoidal
|
Tenacity:
|
Brittle
|
Hardness
(Mohs): |
6.0
|
Density:
|
2.92
- 2.97 (g/cm3) |
Luminescence:
|
Altered
portions fluoresce brownish yellow under SW UV. |
Radioactivity:
|
Not
Radioactive
|
Other: |
May
invert to triclinic symmetry below 29 ąC.
|
|
|
Optical
Properties
|
|
|
Color: |
Colorless,
Pink, pale Yellow, pale Brown, Silvery
|
Transparency: |
Transparent |
Luster: |
Greasy;
highly Vitreous to Pearly on cleavage surfaces |
Refractive
Index: |
1.605 - 1.628 Biaxial
( - ) |
Birefringence: |
0.0210 |
Dispersion: |
Distinct;
r > v |
Pleochroism: |
Colorless |
|
|
Occurances
|
|
|
Geological
Setting: |
A
late phase in nepheline syenites, syenitic pegmatites,
and along the contact zone of a differentiated alkalic
massif (Lovozero massif, Russia); in miarolitic cavities
in ejected blocks of peralkalic granite (Ascension Island).
|
Common
Associations: |
Aegirine,
Aenigmatite, Albite, Apatite, Arfvedsonite, Eudialyte,
Fayalite, Fluorite, Lorenzenite, Magnesio-Katophorite,
Microcline, Pyrochlore, |
Type
Locality: |
Vavnbed Mt, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula,
Murmanskaja Oblast', Northern Region, Russia |
Year
Discovered: |
1961 |
View
mineral photos: |
Vlasovite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
|
|
More
Information
|
|
|
|
Mindat.org Webmineral.com |
|
|
Vlasovite
is an extremely rare gem that was first discovered in
1961 at the Kola Peninsula, Russia and later found
at the Kipawa alkaline complex next to Sheffield Lake,
Temiscamingue County, Quebec, Canada. It is usually associated with Eudialyte.
A very small amount of facet grade crystals were found
at the Kipawa location in 1987. Gems are usually very
small and slightly to moderately included.
The
main sources of gemmy crystals are Mt. Vavnbed, Lovozero
massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia (Type Locality); fine
crystals from the Shefield Lake complex, Kipawa River,
Villedieu Township, Quebec, Canada.
|
Vlasovite
gems for sale:
We
have not photographed our Vlasovite
gems. Please
check back soon.
|
|