Sodalite

Sodalite
General
CategoryTectosilicates without zeolitic H2O
Formula
(repeating unit)
Na
8
(Al
6
Si
6
O
24
)Cl
2
IMA symbolSdl[1]
Strunz classification9.FB.10
Crystal systemCubic
Crystal classHextetrahedral (43m)
H-M symbol: (4 3m)
Space groupP43n
Unit cella = 8.876(6) Å; Z = 1
Identification
ColorRich royal blue, green, yellow, violet, white veining common
Crystal habitMassive; rarely as dodecahedra
TwinningCommon on {111} forming pseudohexagonal prisms
CleavagePoor on {110}
FractureConchoidal to uneven
TenacityBrittle
Mohs scale hardness5.5–6
LusterDull vitreous to greasy
StreakWhite
DiaphaneityTransparent to translucent
Specific gravity2.27–2.33
Optical propertiesIsotropic
Refractive indexn = 1.483 – 1.487
Ultraviolet fluorescenceBright red-orange cathodoluminescence and fluorescence under LW and SW UV, with yellowish phosphorescence; may be photochromic in magentas
FusibilityEasily to a colourless glass; sodium yellow flame
SolubilitySoluble in hydrochloric acid and nitric acid
References[2][3][4][5]
Major varieties
HackmaniteTenebrescent; violet-red or green fading to white

Sodalite (/ˈs.dəˌlt/ SOH-də-lyte) is a tectosilicate mineral with the formula Na
8
(Al
6
Si
6
O
24
)Cl
2
, with royal blue varieties widely used as an ornamental gemstone. Although massive sodalite samples are opaque, crystals are usually transparent to translucent. Sodalite is a member of the sodalite group with hauyne, nosean, lazurite and tugtupite.

The people of the Caral culture traded for sodalite from the Collao altiplano.[6] First discovered by Europeans in 1811 in the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex in Greenland, sodalite did not become widely important as an ornamental stone until 1891 when vast deposits of fine material were discovered in Ontario, Canada.

  1. ^ Warr, Laurence N. (June 2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ Mindat with locations
  3. ^ Webmineral data
  4. ^ Handbook of Mineralogy
  5. ^ Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., ISBN 0-471-80580-7
  6. ^ Sanz, Nuria; Arriaza, Bernardo T.; Standen, Vivien G., eds. (2015). The Chinchorro culture: a comparative perspective, the archaeology of the earliest human mummification. UNESCO Publishing. p. 162. ISBN 978-92-3-100020-1.

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