Blödite
Blödite additionally spelled Bloedite, is definitely a rare sulphate mineral that is extremely rare as a treasure that is faceted. A Blödite that is faceted gem be an oddity for collectors. Blödite kinds in marine and non-marine (lacustrine) evaporite deposits.
Blödite also types as an efflorescence on mine and cave walls. A mineral that is efflorescent the one that forms as a precipitate from minerals within the air. Blödite crystals are very rare. Blödite crystals and gems should be stored in a container that is sealed counter them from drying out and crumbling. Possibly the locality that is only gem quality crystals is Soda Lake, Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA.
Blödite is situated in a quantity that is limited of internationally. The few localities that are notable Willi Agatz Mine, Dresden, Saxony, Germany; Astrakhan’, Astrakhan’ Oblast’, Volga Region, Russia; and Soda Lake, Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA.
| Category: | Sulfate minerals |
| Chemical Formula: | Na2Mg(SO4)2 • 4H2O |
| Hydrated Sodium Magnesium Sulfate | |
| Molecular Weight: | 334.47 gm |
| Composition: | Sodium | 13.75 % | Na | 18.53 % | Na2O |
| Magnesium | 7.27 % | Mg | 12.05 % | MgO | |
| Hydrogen | 2.41 % | H | 21.54 % | H2O | |
| Sulfur | 19.17 % | S | 47.87 % | SO3 | |
| Oxygen | 57.40 % | O | |||
| 100.00 % | 100.00 % | = TOTAL OXIDE |
| Crystallography: | Monoclinic – Prismatic |
| Crystal Habit: | Crystals equant to prismatic [001], with complex development, as with prominent {110}, {210}, {011}, {001}, {111}, {211}, and many others, to 10 cm; granular to compact massive. |
| Twinning: | None |
| Cleavage: | None observed |
| Fracture: | Conchoidal |
| Tenacity: | Brittle |
| Moh’s Hardness: | 2.5 – 3.0 |
| Density: | 2.218 – 2.240 (g/cm3) |
| Luminescence: | None |
| Radioactivity: | Not Radioactive |
| Readily soluble in cold water. |
| Colour: | Colourless, may be dark Gray, Bluish Green, or Reddish from inclusions; Colourless in transmitted light |
| Transparency: | Transparent to Translucent |
| Lustre: | Vitreous |
| Refractive Index: | 1.483 – 1.487 Biaxial ( – ) |
| Birefringence: | 0.0040 |
| Dispersion: | Relatively Strong |
| Pleochroism: | None |
