Wadeite Mineral Data

General Wadeite Information

Chemical Formula:

K2ZrSi3O9

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 397.67 gm

Potassium 19.66 % K 23.69 % K₂O

Zirconium 22.94 % Zr 30.99 % ZrO₂

Silicon 21.19 % Si 45.33 % SiO₂

Oxygen 36.21 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

K₂ZrSi₃O₉

Environment:

Leucite-bearing volcanic rocks, carbonitite veins and nepheline syenite pegmatites.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1939

Locality:

Wolgidee Hills, West Kimberly area, WA, Australia. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Arthur Wade (1878-1951), Australian geologist who collected the mineral.

Name Pronunciation:

Wadeite

Synonym:

ICSD 200082

PDF 43-231

Wadeite Image

Images:

Wadeite

Comments: Sharp hexagonal crystal of wadeite with included dark green aegirine.
Location: Mt. Kukisvumchurr, Khibiny Massif (Russia). Scale: 12x10x6 mm.
© Richard Dale / Dale Minerals

Wadeite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:1.47569

Cell Dimensions:

a = 6.893, c = 10.172, Z = 2; V = 418.56 Den(Calc)= 3.16

Crystal System:

Hexagonal - Dipyramidal H-M Symbol (6/m) Space Group: P 6₃/m

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.85(1), 3.85(0.8), 5.97(0.6),

Physical Properties of Wadeite

Cleavage:

None

Color:

Colorless, Violet, Light lilac, Pink.

Density:

3.1 - 3.13, Average = 3.11

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Fracture:

Brittle - Conchoidal - Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments.

Habit:

Hexagonal - Six-sided crystal shape in cross-section or habit.

Habit:

Prismatic - Crystals Shaped like Slender Prisms (e.g. tourmaline).

Hardness:

5.5-6 - Knife Blade-Orthoclase

Luster:

Adamantine

Magnetism:

Nonmagnetic

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Wadeite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.002 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.016 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2027,KPDmeas= 0.2056,KC= 0.2061
Ncalc = 1.64 - 1.65

Optical Data:

Uniaxial (+), w=1.624-1.627, e=1.653-1.658, bire=0.0290-0.0310.

Calculated Properties of Wadeite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=3.01 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Wadeite =3.12 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.03
Boson Index = 0.97

Photoelectric:

PE_Wadeite= 33.37 barns/electron
U=PE_Wadeite x r_electron= 100.38 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 273.96 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Concentration of Wadeite per GRapi unit = 0.37 (%)

Estimated Radioactivity from Wadeite - barely detectable

Wadeite Classification

Dana Class:

59.01.01.04 (59)Cyclosilicate Three-Membered Rings

(59.01)anhydrous, no other anions

(59.01.01)Benitoite group

59.01.01.01 Bazirite BaZrSi3O9 P 6m2 6 m2

59.01.01.02 Benitoite BaTiSi3O9 P 6c2 6 m2

59.01.01.03 Pabstite Ba(Sn,Ti)Si3O9 P 6c2 6 m2

59.01.01.04 Wadeite K2ZrSi3O9 P 6₃/m 6/m

Strunz Class:

09.CA.10 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.C - Cyclosilicates

09.CA -[Si3O9]6- 3-membered single rings (dreier-Einfachringe),

09.CA.10 Wadeite K2ZrSi3O9 P 6₃/m 6/m

Other Wadeite Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Dana8)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Wadeite :
1 - Alkali-Nuts(English)
2 - Alkali-Nuts(Francais)
3 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
4 - Athena
5 - EUROmin Project
6 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
7 - GeoScienceWorld
8 - Google Images
9 - Google Scholar
10 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
11 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
12 - MinDAT
13 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
14 - Online Mineral Museum
15 - QUT Mineral Atlas
16 - Ruff.Info
17 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Wadeite Specimen Label here :

Wadeite

K2ZrSi3O9
Dana No: 59.01.01.04 Strunz No: 09.CA.10
Locality:

Notes:

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