Best Sodalite Stone

With the formula Na 8(Al 6Si), sodalite (/ˈsoʊ.dəˌlaɪt/ SOH-də-lyte) is a tectosilicate mineral.

6O 24 Cl 2 variations in royal blue are frequently used as gemstones. Crystals are typically transparent to translucent; however, huge sodalite examples are opaque. Along with hauyne, nosean, lazurite, and tugtupite, sodalite is a member of the sodalite group.

The Caral culture exchanged sodalite with the Collao altiplano people. When large concentrations of fine. Sodalite was discovered in Ontario, Canada, in 1891. By Europeans in 1811 in the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex in Greenland, —became a widely used ornamental stone.

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Structure

In 1930, Linus Pauling conducted the first study on the sodalite structure.[7] It is a cubic mineral belonging to space group P43n (space group 218), having Na+ cations and chloride anions in the interframework of an aluminosilicate cage network. (In its place, trace amounts of other cations and anions could exist.)

This structure creates a cage-like zeolite structure. Each unit cell contains two cavities that are nearly identical in structure to the following:. The aluminate cage (Al 24O 48)24− in Ca 8 (Al 12O 24)(WO 4) 2, [9], and the beryllosilicate cage (Be 12Si 12O 48)24−, [7]. And the borate cage (B 24O 48)24− found in the zinc borate Zn 4O (BO 2) 6 [8], as well as the similar mineral tugtupite (Na 4AlBeSi 4O 12Cl) (see Haüyne #Sodalite group). Every chloride ion is surrounded by a single cavity.

The unit cell has two chlorides: one in the centre and one at each of the corners. The cavities around these two chloride sites are mirror images of each other. With each cavity having chiral tetrahedral symmetry (one into the other via a glide plane or a four-fold incorrect rotation),. Each chloride ion has four sodium ions surrounding it (four more at a higher distance). And twelve SiO 4 and twelve AlO 4 tetrahedra surround them.

The atoms of silicon and aluminium are situated in the corners of a truncated octahedron. Which contains four sodium atoms and one chloride atom. An extremely high-pressure form of carbon may develop with a similar structure. (Known as “carbon sodalite”; see illustration in reference.). [10]) Between an AlO 4 tetrahedron and a SiO 4 tetrahedron, each oxygen atom joins. Although every oxygen atom is identical, half of them are situated in environments that are

Properties

Sodalite, named for its sodium content, is a light, somewhat hard material. A fragile mineral that can be classified as a feldspathoid in mineralogy. Sodalite can be either grey or yellow, although its most common color is blue. Green or pink, and it frequently has white flecks or veins throughout. To make beads and cabochons for jewelry, the solid blue material is processed. Making, although in many cases it is used less as a material than as an inlay or cladding.

While lazurite and lapis lazuli are comparable to sodalite, the latter is more blue-tinted than ultramarine. Due to the infrequent presence of pyrite, which is a common inclusion in lapis,. Its white streak, as opposed to blue, further sets it apart from other minerals that resemble it. The six orientations of weak cleavage in sodalite could be seen as early cracks in the rock.

Hackmanite

Hackmanite is one type of sodalite that exhibits tenebrescence. Freshly quarried hackmanite from Ilmaussaq (Greenland). Or Mont Saint-Hilaire (Quebec) is typically light to deep violet, although it quickly turns greyish or greenish white.

On the other hand, hackmanite is from the Myanmar Republic (Burma). And Afghanistan is initially creamy white but becomes violet to pink-red when exposed to sunshine. The violet will fade once more if kept in a dimly lit area for a while. The application of long-wave or, more specifically, short-wave UV light accelerates tenebrescence.

Occurrence

The presence of sodalite was first mentioned in 1811 in its type locality, the Ilimaussaq complex in Narsaq West Green

land is a mineral that is frequently found in large quantities. As vein fillings in plutonic igneous rocks, including nepheline syenites. It is related to other minerals such as leucite, cancrinite, and natrolite that are typical of silica-undersaturated settings. The following minerals are also related: albite, calcite, fluorite, ankerite, nepheline, titanian andradite, aegirine, microcline, sanidine, and baryte.In [4]

The Princess Sodalite Mine in Bancroft, Ontario, and Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. In Canada, as well as Litchfield, Maine, and Magnet Cove, Arkansas. In the US, these are the only locations with notable deposits of fine material. The Ice River complex, located near Golden, British Columbia, is the location of sodalite. [15] Portugal, Romania. Burma, South America (Brazil and Bolivia), and Russia have smaller deposits. and Mont-Saint-Hilaire are the main locations for hackmanite.

It is possible to find euhedral, translucent crystals in the lavas of Vesuvius, Italy, and northern Namibia.