Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

Lithosite

A valid IMA mineral species

This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.

Photos of Lithosite (2)

Search Photos of Lithosite

Edit Add Synonym Edit CIF structures Clear Cache

Lithosite

Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Lithosite

Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Lithosite

Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Lithosite

Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Lithosite

Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Lithosite

Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

Hide all sections | Show all sections

About LithositeHide

Formula:

K₆Al₄Si₈O₂₅ · 2H₂O

Colour:

Colourless; bright pink after X-ray irradiation for at least 8 months

Lustre:

Vitreous

Hardness:

5½

Specific Gravity:

2.51

Crystal System:

Monoclinic

Name:

The name is from the Greek lithos meaning stone, because it is composed of the most abundant components in the Earth's crust.

Type Locality:

ⓘ Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

This page provides mineralogical data about Lithosite.

Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

2421

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:2421:7

GUID
(UUID V4):

09497f86-a6fa-48de-880d-55103333c44d

IMA Classification of LithositeHide

IMA status:

Approved

IMA Formula:

K₃Al₂Si₄O₁₂(OH)

First published:

1983

Type description reference:

Khomyakov, A.P., Chernitsova, N.M., Chistyakova, N.I. (1983) Lithosite, K6Al4Si8O25·2H2O. Zapiski Vsesoyuznogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva: 112(2): 218-222.

Classification of LithositeHide

Strunz-mindat (2024):

9.GB.05

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
G : Tektosilicates with zeolitic H₂O; zeolite family
B : Chains of single connected 4-membered rings

Dana 8th ed.:

77.2.2.1

77 : TECTOSILICATES Zeolites
2 : Zeolite group - related species

Hey's CIM Ref.:

16.3.1

16 : Silicates Containing Aluminum and other Metals
3 : Aluminosilicates of K

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference
Lho	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of LithositeHide

Lustre:

Vitreous

Transparency:

Transparent

Colour:

Colourless; bright pink after X-ray irradiation for at least 8 months

Streak:

White

Hardness:

5½ on Mohs scale

Hardness:

VHN₅₀=412 - 824 kg/mm² - Vickers

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Density:

2.51 g/cm³ (Measured) 2.54 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Optical Data of LithositeHide

Type:

Biaxial (+)

RI values:

n_α = 1.510(2) n_β = 1.513(2) n_γ = 1.527(2)

2V:

Measured: 47° , Calculated: 52°

Max Birefringence:

δ = 0.017

Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness)
and does not take into account mineral colouration.

Surface Relief:

Low

Dispersion:

r > v strong

Pleochroism:

Strong

Comments:

After X-ray exposure: X and Y colorless, Z bright rose.

Comments:

Y near a, X near c.

Chemistry of LithositeHide

Mindat Formula:

K₆Al₄Si₈O₂₅ · 2H₂O

Elements listed:

Al, H, K, O, Si - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of LithositeHide

Crystal System:

Monoclinic

Cell Parameters:

a = 15.197 Å, b = 10.233 Å, c = 8.435 Å
β = 90.21°

Ratio:

a:b:c = 1.485 : 1 : 0.824

Unit Cell V:

1,311.73 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Comment:

Monoclinic, pseudo-orthorhombic. Point Group: n.d.; Space Group: n.d.

Crystal StructureHide

Load
Unit Cell | Unit Cell Packed
2x2x2 | 3x3x3 | 4x4x4

View
CIF File Best | x | y | z | a | b | c

Rotation
Stop | Start

Labels
Console Off | On | Grey | Yellow

Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Link	Year	Locality	Pressure (GPa)	Temp (K)
0015615	Lithosite	Pudovkina Z V, Solov'eva L P, Pyatenko Y A (1986) Crystal structure of lithosite K3[HAl2Si4O13] Soviet Physics Doklady 31 941-942		1986		0	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Lithosite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Pudovkina Z V'
'Solov'eva L P'
'Pyatenko Y A'
_journal_name_full 'Soviet Physics Doklady'
_journal_volume 31 
_journal_year 1986
_journal_page_first 941
_journal_page_last 942
_publ_section_title
;
 Crystal structure of lithosite K3[HAl2Si4O13]
;
_database_code_amcsd 0015615
_chemical_formula_sum 'K3 Al2 Si4 O13'
_cell_length_a 15.197
_cell_length_b 10.233
_cell_length_c 8.435
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 90.31
_cell_angle_gamma 90
_cell_volume 1311.715
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      2.489
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'P 1 21 1'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  '-x,1/2+y,-z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
K1   0.69700   0.05400   0.75200   0.01798
K2   0.42200   0.04600   0.75200   0.02330
K3   0.13600   0.06400   0.73800   0.02698
K4   0.80100   0.94700   0.24700   0.01811
K5   0.07800   0.93800   0.24800   0.02406
K6   0.37000   0.94400   0.24400   0.02406
Al1   0.91000   0.11000   0.93000   0.00811
Al2   0.56300   0.18800   0.44300   0.01051
Al3   0.93600   0.80900   0.55800   0.00887
Al4   0.59000   0.89100   0.06400   0.00823
Si1   0.26200   0.21900   0.43500   0.00785
Si2   0.25900   0.22100   0.06300   0.00469
Si3   0.56100   0.19200   0.05300   0.01102
Si4   0.91400   0.11100   0.55900   0.01026
Si5   0.24300   0.77800   0.93900   0.01241
Si6   0.23700   0.77700   0.56500   0.00861
Si7   0.58600   0.88600   0.43900   0.00988
Si8   0.94000   0.80700   0.94200   0.01089
O1   0.24800   0.18800   0.24900   0.01773
O2   0.99500   0.21900   0.94800   0.01381
O3   0.00500   0.72100   0.43600   0.01976
O4   0.29300   0.10100   0.95800   0.01532
O5   0.54800   0.02700   0.50100   0.01748
O6   0.55200   0.03900   0.99700   0.01494
O7   0.70600   0.59700   0.46800   0.01305
O8   0.54700   0.21800   0.24500   0.01760
O9   0.82400   0.15300   0.45300   0.01659
O10   0.82400   0.15300   0.05400   0.01849
O11   0.12300   0.59800   0.25700   0.01887
O12   0.16700   0.27200   0.50100   0.01735
O13   0.15600   0.24500   0.00100   0.01811
O14   0.24700   0.82100   0.75400   0.01343
O15   0.50700   0.78100   0.45100   0.01102
O16   0.51100   0.77300   0.05100   0.02191
O17   0.19600   0.90800   0.47900   0.01570
O18   0.94700   0.96100   0.00000   0.01621
O19   0.94600   0.97000   0.48600   0.01241
O20   0.20400   0.90400   0.02400   0.01343
O21   0.04800   0.29500   0.24000   0.02039
O22   0.69000   0.85400   0.97000   0.00760
O23   0.66500   0.84400   0.56000   0.01532
O24   0.62400   0.89800   0.26300   0.01444
O25   0.66300   0.23400   0.00100   0.01811
O26   0.33100   0.74500   0.49400   0.01684

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
3.07 Å	(100)
3.46 Å	(84)
3.26 Å	(84)
3.16 Å	(84)
2.10 Å	(83)
2.82 Å	(73)
2.05 Å	(50)

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Stage 7: Great Oxidation Event	<2.4
47a : [Near-surface hydration of prior minerals]

Type Occurrence of LithositeHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Vuonnemiok River Valley, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

General Appearance of Type Material:

Irregular grains 1-3 mm in size.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

Geology Museum, Kola Branch, Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia.
Mineralogical Museum, St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia, 17073.
Mining Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1633/1.
A.E. Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 82751.
The Natural History Museum, London, England, 1994,14.

Geological Setting of Type Material:

Occurs in veins of ultra-agpaitic pegmatite cutting nepheline syenites (rischorrites).

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Zirsinalite	Sodalite	Shafranovskite	Pectolite	Orthoclase
Molybdenite	Lomonosovite	Lamprophyllite	Koashvite	Catapleiite
Aegirine

Reference:

Khomyakov, A.P., Chernitsova, N.M., Chistyakova, N.I. (1983) Lithosite, K6Al4Si8O25·2H2O. Zapiski Vsesoyuznogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva: 112(2): 218-222.

Download:

https://rruff.info/rruff_1.0/uploads/ZVMO112N2_218.pdf

Synonyms of LithositeHide

IMA1982-049

Other Language Names for LithositeHide

German:Lithosit

Russian:Литосит

Spanish:Lithosita

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

9.GB.05	Ammonioleucite	(NH₄)(AlSi₂O₆)	Tet. 4/m : I4₁/a
9.GB.05	Analcime	Na(AlSi₂O₆) · H₂O	Tric. 1 : P1
9.GB.05	Hsianghualite	Ca₃Li₂(Be₃Si₃O₁₂)F₂	Iso. 4 3 2 : I4₁ 3 2
9.GB.05	Leucite	K(AlSi₂O₆)	Tet. 4/m : I4₁/a
9.GB.05	Pollucite	(Cs,Na)₂(Al₂Si₄O₁₂) · 2H₂O	Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Ia3d
9.GB.05	Wairakite	Ca(Al₂Si₄O₁₂) · 2H₂O	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
9.GB.05 va	Germanate-analcime	NaAlGe₂O₆ · H₂O
9.GB.05 va	Germanate-leucite	KAlGe₂O₆
9.GB.05	Kirchhoffite	Cs(BSi₂O₆)	Tet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : I4₁/acd
9.GB.05	Fabrièsite	Na₃Al₃Si₃O₁₂ · 2H₂O	Orth. mm2 : Pmm2
9.GB.10	Laumontite	CaAl₂Si₄O₁₂ · 4H₂O	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
9.GB.15	Yugawaralite	CaAl₂Si₆O₁₆ · 4H₂O	Mon. m : Pb
9.GB.20	Roggianite	Ca₂Be(OH)₂Al₂Si₄O₁₃ · 2.5H₂O	Tet. 4/mmm (4/m 2/m 2/m) : I4/mcm
9.GB.25	Goosecreekite	Ca[Al₂Si₆O₁₆] · 5H₂O	Mon. 2 : P2₁
9.GB.30	Montesommaite	(K,Na)₉Al₉Si₂₃O₆₄ · 10H₂O	Orth. mm2 : Fdd2
9.GB.35	Parthéite	Ca₂(Si₄Al₄) O₁₅ (OH)₂ · 4H₂O	Mon. 2/m : B2/b

Other InformationHide

IR Spectrum:

The infra-red spectrum indicates the presence of molecular water.

Notes:

Easily decomposed by cold 10% HCl.

Under X-rays it acquires a bright rose color, which persists for at least 8 months; it is then pleochroic with X and Y colorless, Z bright rose.

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for LithositeHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-2421.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

Search Engines:

Look for Lithosite on Google

Look for Lithosite images on Google

Look for Lithosite on Bing

Look for Lithosite images on Bing

Look for Lithosite on DuckDuckGo

Look for Lithosite images on DuckDuckGo

Look for Lithosite in the Rock H. Currier Digital Library

External Links:

Look for Lithosite on Webmineral

Look for Lithosite on Wikipedia

Look for Lithosite on Mineralien Atlas

Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

Mineral Dealers:

Blue Gems Australian & International

The Arkenstone - Fine Minerals

Fine Minerals from Weinrich Minerals, Inc.

Wilensky Exquisite Minerals

Buy rare minerals from Excalibur Minerals

Buy from David K Joyce minerals

Buy from McDougall Minerals

High-end worldwide specimens & outstanding customer service

References for LithositeHide

Reference List:

Khomyakov, A.P., Chernitsova, N.M., Chistyakova, N.I. (1983) Lithosite, K6Al4Si8O25·2H2O. Zapiski Vsesoyuznogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva: 112(2): 218-222.

Dunn, Pete J., Grice, Joel D. Fleischer, Michael, Pabst, Adolf (1984) New mineral names. American Mineralogist, 69 (1-2) 210-215

Pudovkina, Z.V., Solov'eva, L.P., Pyatenko, Y.A. (1986) On the crystal structure of lithosite, K3HAl2Si4O13. Doklady Akademii Nauk: 291(6): 1370-1373.

Pudovkina, Z.V., Solov'eva, L.P., Pyatenko, Y.A. (1986) Crystal structure of lithosite K3[HAl2Si4O13]. Soviet Physics - Doklady: 31: 941-942.

(2023) Lithosite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for LithositeHide

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.

Russia (TL)

Murmansk Oblast

Khibiny Massif

ⓘ Vuonnemiok River Valley (TL)

Khomyakov et al. (1983) +2 other references

Lithosite

About LithositeHide

Unique IdentifiersHide

IMA Classification of LithositeHide

Classification of LithositeHide

Mineral SymbolsHide

Physical Properties of LithositeHide

Optical Data of LithositeHide

Chemistry of LithositeHide

Crystallography of LithositeHide

Crystal StructureHide

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Geological EnvironmentHide

Type Occurrence of LithositeHide

Synonyms of LithositeHide

Other Language Names for LithositeHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

Other InformationHide

Internet Links for LithositeHide

References for LithositeHide

Localities for LithositeHide

Locality ListHide

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide