Spodumene
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Formula:
LiAlSi2O6
System:
Monoclinic
Colour:
Colourless, yellow, ...
Lustre:
Vitreous, Dull
Hardness:
6½ - 7
Member of:
Name:
From Greek "spodoumenos", reduced to ashes, alluding to the grayish white mass that is formed when the mineral is ignited.
Pyroxene Group - Clinopyroxene Subgroup.
Spodumene is worked as an ore of lithium, but it is most highly prized as a gem material - the varieties Kunzite (pink) and Hiddenite (green) are especially sought after. It is usually found as a constituent of lithium-rich pegmatites.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Spodumene.
Spodumene is worked as an ore of lithium, but it is most highly prized as a gem material - the varieties Kunzite (pink) and Hiddenite (green) are especially sought after. It is usually found as a constituent of lithium-rich pegmatites.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Spodumene.
Classification of Spodumene
Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)
8/F.01-120
9.DA.30
9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
A : Inosilicates with 2-periodic single chains, Si2O6; pyroxene family
9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
A : Inosilicates with 2-periodic single chains, Si2O6; pyroxene family
65.1.4.1
65 : INOSILICATES Single-Width,Unbranched Chains,(W=1)
1 : Single-Width Unbranched Chains, W=1 with chains P=2
65 : INOSILICATES Single-Width,Unbranched Chains,(W=1)
1 : Single-Width Unbranched Chains, W=1 with chains P=2
16.1.2
16 : Silicates Containing Aluminum and other Metals
1 : Aluminosilicates of Li
16 : Silicates Containing Aluminum and other Metals
1 : Aluminosilicates of Li
Physical Properties of Spodumene
Vitreous, Dull
Diaphaneity (Transparency):
Transparent, Translucent
Colour:
Colourless, yellow, light green, emerald-green, pink to violet, purple, white, gray
Streak:
White
Hardness (Mohs):
6½ - 7
Cleavage:
Perfect
Density:
3.1 - 3.2 g/cm3 (Measured)
Optical Data of Spodumene
Type:
Biaxial (+)
RI values:
nα = 1.648 - 1.661 nβ = 1.655 - 1.670 nγ = 1.662 - 1.679
2V:
Measured: 54° to 69°, Calculated: 88°
Max Birefringence:
δ = 0.014 - 0.018
Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness) and does not take into account mineral colouration.
Surface Relief:
Moderate
Dispersion:
weak
Chemical Properties of Spodumene
Formula:
LiAlSi2O6
Elements listed in formula:
Common Impurities:
Fe,Mn,Mg,Ca,Na,K,H2O
Crystallography of Spodumene
Crystal System:
Monoclinic
Cell Parameters:
a = 9.46 Å, b = 8.39 Å, c = 5.22 Å
β = 110.17°
β = 110.17°
Ratio:
a:b:c = 1.128 : 1 : 0.622
Unit Cell Volume:
V 388.90 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Crystallographic forms of Spodumene
Crystal Atlas:
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Spodumene no.6 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
3d models and HTML5 code kindly provided by
www.smorf.nl.
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X-Ray Powder Diffraction:
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Radiation - Copper Kα
Data courtesy of RRUFF project at University of Arizona, used with permission.
Type Occurrence of Spodumene
Relationship of Spodumene to other Species
Member of:
Other Members of Group:
| Aegirine | NaFe3+Si2O6 |
| Aegirine-augite | (Na,Ca)(Fe3+,Fe2+,Mg,Al)Si2O6 |
| Augite | (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe2+,Al,Fe3+,Ti)[(Si,Al)2O6] |
| Clinoenstatite | MgSiO3 |
| Clinoferrosilite | Fe2+SiO3 |
| Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
| Esseneite | CaFe3+[AlSiO6] |
| Hedenbergite | CaFe2+Si2O6 |
| Jadeite | Na(Al,Fe3+)Si2O6 |
| Jervisite | (Na,Ca,Fe2+)(Sc,Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6 |
| Johannsenite | CaMn2+Si2O6 |
| Kanoite | Mn2+(Mg,Mn2+)Si2O6 |
| Kosmochlor | NaCrSi2O6 |
| Kushiroite | CaAl[AlSiO6] |
| Namansilite | NaMn3+Si2O6 |
| Natalyite | NaV3+Si2O6 |
| Omphacite | (Ca,Na)(Mg,Al)Si2O6 |
| Petedunnite | Ca(Zn,Mn2+,Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6 |
| Pigeonite | (Mg,Fe2+,Ca)(Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.05 | Donpeacorite | (Mn2+,Mg)Mg[SiO3]2 |
| 9.DA.05 | Enstatite | MgSiO3 |
| 9.DA.05 | Ferrosilite | FeSiO3 |
| 9.DA.10 | Clinoenstatite | MgSiO3 |
| 9.DA.10 | Clinoferrosilite | Fe2+SiO3 |
| 9.DA.10 | Kanoite | Mn2+(Mg,Mn2+)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.10 | Pigeonite | (Mg,Fe2+,Ca)(Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.15 | Augite | (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe2+,Al,Fe3+,Ti)[(Si,Al)2O6] |
| 9.DA.15 | Diopside | CaMgSi2O6 |
| 9.DA.15 | Esseneite | CaFe3+[AlSiO6] |
| 9.DA.15 | Hedenbergite | CaFe2+Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.15 | Johannsenite | CaMn2+Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.15 | Petedunnite | Ca(Zn,Mn2+,Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.15 | Davisite | CaScAlSiO6 |
| 9.DA.15 | Kushiroite | CaAl[AlSiO6] |
| 9.DA.15 | Grossmanite | CaTi3+ AlSiO6 |
| 9.DA.20 | Aegirine-augite | (Na,Ca)(Fe3+,Fe2+,Mg,Al)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.20 | Omphacite | (Ca,Na)(Mg,Al)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.25 | Aegirine | NaFe3+Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.25 | Jadeite | Na(Al,Fe3+)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.25 | Jervisite | (Na,Ca,Fe2+)(Sc,Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.25 | Kosmochlor | NaCrSi2O6 |
| 9.DA.25 | Namansilite | NaMn3+Si2O6 |
| 9.DA.25 | Natalyite | NaV3+Si2O6 |
| 16.1.1 | Petalite | LiAl(Si4O10) |
| 16.1.3 | Eucryptite | LiAlSiO4 |
| 16.1.4 | Virgilite | LiAlSi2O6 |
| 16.1.5 | Cookeite | (Al2Li)Al2(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| 16.1.6 | Bikitaite | LiAlSi2O6 · H2O |
| 16.1.7 | Lunijianlaite | Li0.7Al6.2(AlSi7O20)(OH,O)10 |
| 16.1.8 | Swinefordite | Li(Al,Li,Mg)4((Si,Al)4O10)2(OH,F)4 · nH2O |
| 16.1.9 | Holmquistite | ☐{Li2}{Mg3Al2}(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| 16.1.13 | Clino-holmquistite Root Name | ☐{Li2}{Z32+Z23+}(Si8O22)(OH,F,Cl)2 |
| 16.1.14 | Magnesioholmquistite | ☐{Li2}{Mg3Al2}(Si8O22)(OH)2 |
| 16.1.15 | Bityite | LiCaAl2(AlBeSi2O10)(OH)2 |
| 16.1.16 | Sogdianite | K(□,Na)2Li3(Zr,Fe,Ti)2[Si12O30] |
| 16.1.17 | Sugilite | K(Na,□)2Li3(Fe,Mn,Al,Zr)2[Si12O30] |
Other Names for Spodumene
Name in Other Languages:
Basque:Espodumeno
Croatian:Spodumen
Dutch:Spodumeen
Estonian:Spodumeen
Finnish:Spodumeeni
French:Spodumène
German:Spodumen
Hungarian:Spodumen
Italian:Spodumene
Lithuanian:Spodumenas
Norwegian (Bokmål):Spodumen
Polish:Spodumen
Portuguese:Espodúmena
Russian:Сподумен
Simplified Chinese:锂辉石
Swedish:Spodumen
Traditional Chinese:鋰輝石
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Spodumene in petrology
Common component of (items highlighted in red)
References for Spodumene
Reference List:
Dana, E.S. (1892) Dana's system of mineralogy, 6th edition. New York: 366-369.
Gabriel A., Slavin, M., Carl, H.F. (1942) Minor constituents in spodumene. Economic Geology: 37: 116-125.
Clark, J.R., Appleman, D.E., Papike, J.J. (1969) Crystal-chemical characterization of clinopyroxenes based on eight new structure refinements. MSA Special Paper: 2: 31-50.
Cameron, M., Shigeho, S., Prewitt, C.T., Papike, J.J. (1973) High temperature crystal chemistry of acmite, diopside, hedenbergite, jadeite, spodumene and ureyite. American Mineralogist: 58: 594-618.
Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A, Zussman, J. (1978) Rock-forming minerals, 2nd edition, vol. 2A, single-chain silicates: 527-544.
Kuntzinger, S., Ghermani, N.E. (1999) Electron density distribution and Madelung potential in α-spodumene, LiAl(SiO3)2, from two-wavelength high-resolution X-ray diffraction data. Acta Crystallographica: B55: 273-284.
Arlt, T., Angel, R. (2000) Displacive phase transitions in C-centered clinopyroxenes: spodumene, LiScSi2O6, and ZnSiO3. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 27: 719-731.
Filip, J., Novak, M., Beran, A., Zboril, R. (2006) Crystal chemistry and OH defect concentrations in spodumenes from different granitic pegmatites. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 32: 733-746.
Gabriel A., Slavin, M., Carl, H.F. (1942) Minor constituents in spodumene. Economic Geology: 37: 116-125.
Clark, J.R., Appleman, D.E., Papike, J.J. (1969) Crystal-chemical characterization of clinopyroxenes based on eight new structure refinements. MSA Special Paper: 2: 31-50.
Cameron, M., Shigeho, S., Prewitt, C.T., Papike, J.J. (1973) High temperature crystal chemistry of acmite, diopside, hedenbergite, jadeite, spodumene and ureyite. American Mineralogist: 58: 594-618.
Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A, Zussman, J. (1978) Rock-forming minerals, 2nd edition, vol. 2A, single-chain silicates: 527-544.
Kuntzinger, S., Ghermani, N.E. (1999) Electron density distribution and Madelung potential in α-spodumene, LiAl(SiO3)2, from two-wavelength high-resolution X-ray diffraction data. Acta Crystallographica: B55: 273-284.
Arlt, T., Angel, R. (2000) Displacive phase transitions in C-centered clinopyroxenes: spodumene, LiScSi2O6, and ZnSiO3. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 27: 719-731.
Filip, J., Novak, M., Beran, A., Zboril, R. (2006) Crystal chemistry and OH defect concentrations in spodumenes from different granitic pegmatites. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 32: 733-746.
Internet Links for Spodumene
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-3733.html
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Laghman Province, Afghanistan