Kaersutite

Kaersutite is really a titanium that is the member that is rare of Calcic Clino-Amphibole Subgroup associated with Amphibole Group of minerals which includes Actinolite, Ferro-edenite, Kaersutite, Pargasite, Richterite and Tremolite. The formula of Kaersutite is NaCa2[(Mg; Fe2+)4Ti](Si6Al12)O22(OH)2 (Sodium Calcium Magnesium Titanium Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide) and its molecular weight is 872.72 gm. The Amphibole Group is a considerable and group that is a complex of presently split into several sub-groups. Kaersutite occurs in intermediate rocks that are alkali are igneous is certainly one regarding the rock-forming amphiboles typically found in nepheline syenite. Crystals are commonly actually brownish to black colored, well-formed, prismatic phenocrysts to about 10 cm with vitreous lustre.

Kaersutite was named for the locality at Qaersut (Kaersut), Uummannaq, north Greenland where it was discovered in 1884. It was named by Johannes Theodor Lorenzen (1855-1884), Danish mineralogist interested in Greenland minerals. Lorenzen died at age 29 while on an expedition to Greenland in 1884. The mineral Lorenzenite had been named in their honour.

Kaersutite is situated in Greenland, from Østerfjeld, near Qaersut, at Nûgssuaq, and somewhere else in the Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord and Skaergaard areas; on Linosa, Pelagian Islands, south of Sicily, Italy; from Vlcí Hora (Wolf Hill) , Cernošín, Czech Republic; near Boulder Dam, Mohave County, and near San Carlos, Gila County, Arizona, United States Of America; Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada; Chikaishi, Oki Island, Shimane Prefecture, as well as Mushozu and Numazu, Iki Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan; at Kakanui, groundbreaking Zealand. A number of other localities are understood. 

Category: Inosilicate
Chemical Formula: NaCa2[(Mg;Fe2+)4Ti](Si6Al12)O22(OH)2  
Sodium Calcium Magnesium Titanium Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide
Molecular Weight: 872.72 gm
Composition: Sodium 2.63 % Na 3.55 % Na2O
Calcium 9.18 % Ca 12.85 % CaO
Magnesium 11.14 % Mg 18.47 % MgO
Titanium 5.49 % Ti 9.15 % TiO2
Aluminum 6.18 % Al 11.68 % Al2O3
Silicon 19.31 % Si 41.31 % SiO2
Hydrogen 0.23 % H 2.06 % H2O
Oxygen 45.83 % O
  100.00 % 98.08 % = TOTAL OXIDE

 

Crystallography: Monoclinic – Prismatic
Crystal Habit: Commonly as well-formed phenocrysts with rhombic basal sections; prismatic, to 10 cm; as granular aggregates.
Twinning: Simple or multiple twinning || {100}.

 

Cleavage: Perfect on {110}, intersecting at 56° and 124°; partings on {100}, {001}.
Fracture: Conchoidal
Tenacity: Brittle
Moh’s Hardness: 5.0 – 6.0
Density: 3.20 – 3.28 (g/cm3)
Luminescence: None
Radioactivity: Not Radioactive

 

Color: Dark Brown to Black, typically zoned; Yellow-Brown, Green-Brown, or Red-Brown in thin section.
Transparency: Translucent to Subopaque
Luster: Vitreous, Resinous
Refractive Index: 1.670 – 1.772  Biaxial  ( – )
Birefringence: 0.030 – 0.083
Dispersion: Strong; r > v
Pleochroism: Strong; X = yellow, yellow-brown; Y = red, red-brown; Z = deep brown, dark red-brown.