| Spodumene | |
|---|---|
Walnut Hill Pegmatite Prospect, Huntington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA (Size: 14.2 x 9.2 x 3.0 cm) |
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| General | |
| Category | Silicate mineral, pyroxene |
| Chemical formula | lithium aluminium silicate, LiAl(SiO3)2 |
| Crystal symmetry | Monoclinic 2/m |
| Unit cell | a = 9.46 Å, b = 8.39 Å, c = 5.22 Å; β = 110.17°; Z = 4 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Highly variable: white, colorless, gray, pink, lilac, violet, yellow and green, may be bicolored; emerald green - hiddenite; lilac - kunzite |
| Crystal habit | prismatic, generally flattened and elongated, striated parallel to {100}, commonly massive |
| Crystal system | Monoclinic; 2/m |
| Twinning | Common on {100} |
| Cleavage | Perfect prismatic, two directions {110} ∧ {110} at 87° |
| Fracture | Uneven to subconchoidal |
| Tenacity | Brittle |
| Mohs scale hardness | 6.5 - 7 |
| Luster | Vitreous, pearly on cleavage |
| Streak | white |
| Specific gravity | 3.03-3.23 |
| Optical properties | Biaxial (+) |
| Refractive index | nα = 1.648 - 1.661 nβ = 1.655 - 1.670 nγ = 1.662 - 1.679 |
| Birefringence | δ = 0.014 - 0.018 |
| Pleochroism | Strong in kunzite: α-purple, γ-colorless; hiddenite: α-green, γ-colorless |
| 2V angle | 54° to 69° |
| Fusibility | 3.5 |
| Solubility | insoluble |
| Other characteristics | Tenebrescence, chatoyancy, kunzite often fluorescent under UV |
| References | [1][2][3][4] |
Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral consisting of lithium aluminium inosilicate, LiAl(SiO3)2, and is a source of lithium. It occurs as colorless to yellowish, purplish, or lilac kunzite (see below), yellowish-green or emerald-green hiddenite, prismatic crystals, often of great size. Single crystals of 14.3 m (47 ft) in size are reported from the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States.[5]
The normal low-temperature form α-spodumene is in the monoclinic system whereas the high-temperature β-spodumene crystallizes in the tetragonal system. The normal α-spodumene converts to β-spodumene at temperatures above 900 °C.[4] Crystals are typically heavily striated parallel to the principal axis. Crystal faces are often etched and pitted with triangular markings.
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Spodumene was first described in 1800 for an occurrence in the type locality in Utö, Södermanland, Sweden. The name is derived from the Greek spodumenos (σποδυμενος), meaning "burnt to ashes," owing to the opaque, ash-grey appearance of material refined for use in industry.[1]
Spodumene occurs in lithium-rich granite pegmatites and aplites. Associated minerals include: quartz, albite, petalite, eucryptite, lepidolite and beryl.[2]
Transparent material has long been used as a gemstone with varieties kunzite and hiddenite noted for their strong pleochroism. Source localities include Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Madagascar, Pakistan, Québec in Canada and North Carolina, California in the USA.
Spodumene is an important source of lithium for use in ceramics, mobile phone and automotive batteries, medicine and as a fluxing agent. Lithium is extracted from spodumene by fusing in acid.
World production of lithium via spodumene is around 80,000 metric tonnes per annum, primarily from the Greenbushes pegmatite of Western Australia, and some Chinese and Chilean sources. The Talison mine in Greenbushes, Western Australia has an estimated reserve of 13 million tonnes.[6]
Some think that spodumene will become a less important source of lithium due to the emergence of alkaline brine lake sources in Chile, China and Argentina, which produce lithium chloride directly. Lithium chloride is converted to lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide by reaction with sodium carbonate and calcium hydroxide respectively.
But, pegmatite-based projects benefit from being quicker to move into production than brines, which can take 18 months to 3 years, depending on evaporation rates. With pegmatites, once a mill is built, the production of lithium carbonate is only a matter of days.
Another key advantage that spodumene has over its more popular brine rivals, is the purity of the lithium carbonate it can produce. While all product used by the battery industry have to grade at least 99.5% lithium carbonate, the make up of that final 0.5% is important. If it contains higher amounts of iron, magnesium or other deleterious materials it is less attractive to end users.
Hiddenite is a pale emerald green gem variety first reported from Alexander County, North Carolina, U. S. A.
Kunzite is a pink to lilac colored gemstone, a variety of spodumene with the color coming from minor to trace amounts of manganese. Some (but not all) kunzite used for gemstones has been heated to enhance its color. It is also frequently irradiated to enhance the color. Many kunzites fade when exposed to sunlight. It was discovered in 1902, and was named after George Frederick Kunz, Tiffany & Co's chief jeweler at the time, and a noted mineralogist. It has been found in Brazil, USA, Canada, CIS, Mexico, Sweden, Western Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.