Mineralpedia Details for Leifite
Leifite
Leif Ericson, the famous Norse adventurer and discoverer of Greenland is the namesake for Leifite. It is a rare mineral that occurs at its type locality in the Narssarssuk pegmatite in Greenland, at Mont Saint-Hilaire and the Strange Lake complex in Canada, and in the Kola Peninsula in Russia. It is found in pegmatites, alkali massifs, and in a gabbro-syenite complex.
Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/leifite.pdf
- Formula
- Na7Be2(Si15Al3)O39(F,OH)2
- Crystal System
- Trigonal
- Crystal Habit
- Prismatic, Pseudo Hexagonal
- Cleavage
- Good, Good, None
- Luster
- Vitreous (Glassy)
- Color
- colorless, white
- Streak
- white
- Class
- Trigonal - Hexagonal Scalenohedral
- Fracture
- Brittle
- Hardness
- 6
- WebMineral
- View Leifite
- Mindat
- View Leifite
Leifite from Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
Snow white, acicular crystals to 2cm in divergent fans.
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Leifite from Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
A partial section of a Leifite crystal ball.
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