a = 5.209(2) Å, b = 9.011(5) Å, c = 10.149(5) Å; β = 100:77(4)°; Z = 2
Identification
Color
Pink, light purple, purple, rose-red, violet-gray, yellowish, white, colorless other colors possible but are rare.
Crystal habit
Tabular to prismatic pseudohexagonal crystals, scaly aggregates and massive
Twinning
Rare, composition plane {001}
Cleavage
{001} perfect
Fracture
Uneven
Mohs scale hardness
2.5–3
Luster
Vitreous to pearly
Streak
White
Diaphaneity
Transparent to translucent
Specific gravity
2.8–2.9
Optical properties
Biaxial (−)
Refractive index
nα=1.525–1.548, nβ=1.551–1.58, nγ=1.554–1.586
Birefringence
0.0290–0.0380
Pleochroism
X = almost colorless; Y = Z = pink, pale violet
2V angle
0° – 58° measured
References
[2][3]
Lepidolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored member of the mica group of minerals with chemical formula K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O10(F,OH)2.[2][3] It is the most abundant lithium-bearing mineral[4] and is a secondary source of this metal. It is the major source of the alkali metal rubidium.
Lepidolite is found with other lithium-bearing minerals, such as spodumene, in pegmatite bodies. It has also been found in high-temperature quartz veins, greisens and granite.
^ abAnthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (2005). "Lepidolite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
^ abBarthelmy, David (2014). "Lepidolite Mineral Data". Webmineral.com. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
^Deer, W.A.; Howie, R.A.; Zussman, J. (1966). An Introduction to the Rock Forming Minerals. London: Longman. p. 218. ISBN 0-582-44210-9.
Lepidolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored member of the mica group of minerals with chemical formula K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O10(F,OH)2. It is the most abundant...
with minor schorl and garnet. This is followed by deposition of albite, lepidolite, gem tourmaline, beryl, spodumene, amblygonite, topaz, apatite, and fluorite...
carnallite, and zinnwaldite, which contain as much as 1% rubidium oxide. Lepidolite contains between 0.3% and 3.5% rubidium, and is the commercial source...
attention of prospectors since before 1900, the extensive deposits of lepidolite were not recognized until 1918 by Joseph J. Peyer. Peyer and his partners...
columnar masses. It occurs in lithium-bearing pegmatites with spodumene, lepidolite, and tourmaline. Petalite is an important ore of lithium, and is converted...
forms in igneous and metamorphic rocks and veins in association with lepidolite, microcline, and spodumene in granite pegmatites; with andalusite and...
tin veins, and greisens. Amblygonite occurs with spodumene, apatite, lepidolite, tourmaline, and other lithium-bearing minerals in pegmatite veins. It...
aplites. Associated minerals include: quartz, albite, petalite, eucryptite, lepidolite and beryl. Transparent material has long been used as a gemstone with...
16 August 1899, at the age of 88. Bunsenite Flash (photography) Geysir Lepidolite List of German inventors and discoverers Photobiology Volcanic gas Flame...
deposits. It is commonly associated with topaz, cassiterite, wolframite, lepidolite, spodumene, beryl, tourmaline, and fluorite. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC...
Pakistan. It has only been found as a coating on a single crystal of lepidolite. The sole rock containing Billwiseite is kept at the Royal Ontario Museum...
Klaproth discovered the presence of potassium in the minerals leucite and lepidolite. Louis Vauquelin then conjectured that potassium was likewise an ingredient...
as Martin Klaproth discovered the presence of potassium in leucite and lepidolite, Vauquelin demonstrated that common alum is a double salt, composed of...
commercially viable sources. Another significant mineral of lithium is lepidolite which is now an obsolete name for a series formed by polylithionite and...
impurity in) silicate or aluminosilicate. A major source of rubidium is lepidolite, KLi2Al(Al,Si)3O10(F,OH)2, wherein Rb sometimes replaces K. Rb2O is a...
chemist Martin Klaproth discovered "potash" in the minerals leucite and lepidolite, and realized that "potash" was not a product of plant growth but actually...
the following year in Heidelberg, Germany, finding it in the mineral lepidolite. The names of rubidium and caesium come from the most prominent lines...
pegmatites in association with albite, spodumene, petalite, amblygonite, lepidolite and quartz. It occurs as a secondary alteration product of spodumene....
pegmatites, associated with the more commercially important lithium minerals, lepidolite and petalite. Within the pegmatites, the large grain size and the strong...
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