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Mineralpedia Details for Spodumene

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Spodumene

Spodumene

Named in reference to its color and, some argue, its appearance after being ignited, after the Greek spodoumenos, meaning “burnt to ashes.” The gem varieties of Spodumene, hiddenite and kunzite, are named for mineralogist William E. Hidden and a former mineralogist at Tiffany & Co., George Frederick Kunz, respectively. Interestingly, the town of Hiddenite in North Carolina, USA is named after the mineral hiddenite and not the other way around, as many believe. Spodumene, an important lithium ore, is a common mineral in lithium-bearing granite pegmatites and can also be found in aplites and gneisses. Spodumene has hundreds of localities, but one of the more interesting ones is right here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Etta mine near the town of Keystone is known for its giant crystals of spodumene.  Crystals of over 14 meters (47 feet) have been reported!

Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/spodumene.pdf

Formula
LiAlSi2O6 
Crystal System
Monoclinic 
Crystal Habit
Bladed, Prismatic 
Cleavage
Perfect, Good, None 
Luster
Vitreous (Glassy) 
Color
grayish white, pink, violet, emerald green, yellow 
Streak
white 
Class
Monoclinic - Prismatic 
Fracture
Splintery 
Hardness
6.5-7 
WebMineral
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Mindat
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Spodumene var. Hiddenite from Stony Point, Alexander Co., North Carolina, United States

Spodumene var. Hiddenite
            from Stony Point, Alexander Co., North Carolina, United States

Green variety of gem quality Spodumene. Hiddenite was named after W. E. Hidden, the discoverer of the deposit near Stony Point. Later the nearest post office and railroad station was renamed "Hiddenite", after the Hiddenite mine. 5-10mm, gemmy Hiddenite crystals.

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Spodumene var. Hiddenite from Etta mine, Pennington Co., South Dakota, United States

Spodumene var. Hiddenite
            from Etta mine, Pennington Co., South Dakota, United States

Light green Spodumene crystal of the Hiddenite variety, 3cm.

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Spodumene from Walden Gem quarry, Portland, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, United States

Spodumene
            from Walden Gem quarry, Portland, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, United States

A large cleaved chunk of this important lithium mineral found in granitic pegmatites.

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Spodumene from Quebec Lithium mine, Barrault, Quebec, Canada

Spodumene
            from Quebec Lithium mine, Barrault, Quebec, Canada

This is an interesting pegmatite mineral in which Spodumene occurs as 1-2cm crystal blades with Quartz (or pollucite) with abundant sulfides including Pyrrhotite and silvery Bismuthinite.

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Spodumene from Stewart mine, Pala dist., San Diego Co., California, United States

Spodumene
            from Stewart mine, Pala dist., San Diego Co., California, United States

Light pink Spodumene crystal cleavage.

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Spodumene from Midnight Owl mine, Yavapai Co., Arizona, United States

Spodumene
            from Midnight Owl mine, Yavapai Co., Arizona, United States
Special Info
Fluorescent

Exceptional example of replacement of Spodumene by Eucryptite. Note the outline of the former Spodumene crystal.

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