Fluorescent Tugtupite in Albite matrix Polished slice Illimaussaq Greenland 44mm
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The red variety of the mineral tugtupite, a rare silicate closely related to sodalite, has been used as a gemstone since 1965. A recently discovered light blue variety of tugtupite is also described. Thus far, tugtupite has been found in only two localities: (1) Lovozero, Kola Peninsula, U.S.S.R., where it occurs as very small grains; and (2) Ilimaussaq, South Greenland, where it has been located at several places within the Ilimaussaq intrusion. Gem-quality tugtupite has come almost exclusively from one occurrence, a set of hydrothermal albite veins from the Kvanefjeld plateau in the northwestern corner of the Ilimaussaq intrusion.
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Tugtupite
| Tugtupite | |
|---|---|
| Tugtupite, quartz | |
| General | |
| Category | Tectosilicate |
| Formula (repeating unit) | Na4(AlBeSi4O12)Cl |
| Strunz classification | 9.FB.10 |
| Crystal system | Tetragonal |
| Crystal class | Disphenoidal (4 ) H-M symbol : (4 ) |
| Space group | I 4 |
| Identification | |
| References | [1] |
Tugtupite is a beryllium aluminium tectosilicate . It also contains sodium and chlorine and has the formula Na 4Al Be Si 4O 12Cl .[2] Tugtupite is a member of the silica deficient feldspathoid mineral group. It occurs in high alkali intrusive igneous rocks .
Tugtupite is tenebrescent , sharing much of its crystal structure with sodalite , and the two minerals are occasionally found together in the same sample.
Tugtupite occurs as vitreous, transparent to translucent masses of tetragonal crystals and is commonly found in white, pink, to crimson, and even blue and green. It has a Mohs hardness of 4 and a specific gravity of 2.36. It fluoresces crimson under ultraviolet radiation.
It was first found in 1962 at Tugtup agtakôrfia Ilimaussaq intrusive complex of southwest Greenland .[3] It has also been found at Mont-Saint-Hilaire in Quebec and in the Lovozero Massif of the Kola Peninsula in Russia
The name is derived from the Greenlandic Inuit word for reindeer (tuttu ), and means "reindeer blood."[4]
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that in Nepal, tugtupite (as well as jasper and nephrite) were found extensively in most of the rivers from the Bardia to the Dang.[5]
It is used as a gemstone.[6]
- Country/Region of Manufacture: Greenland
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