Amazonite

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Amazonite
Photo of a turquoise mineral with beige microcline speckled within it
Amazonite from Brazil
General
CategoryTectosilicate minerals, feldspar group, alkali series, microcline variety
FormulaKAlSi3O8
Crystal systemTriclinic
Identification
ColorGreen, blue-green
Crystal habitPrismatic
CleavagePerfect
FractureUneven, splintery
TenacityBrittle
Mohs scale hardness6.0–6.5
LusterVitreous
StreakWhite
DiaphaneityTranslucent, opaque
Specific gravity2.56–2.58
Refractive index1.522–1.530
Birefringence−0.008
PleochroismAbsent
DispersionNone
Ultraviolet fluorescenceWeak; olive-green
Other characteristicsFile:Radioactive.svg Radioactive 14.05% (K)
References[1][2][3]:214–215

Amazonite, also known as amazonstone,[4] is a green tectosilicate mineral, a variety of the potassium feldspar called microcline.[4][5][6] Its chemical formula is KAlSi3O8,[1][7] which is polymorphic to orthoclase.

Its name is taken from that of the Amazon River, from which green stones were formerly obtained, though it is unknown whether those stones were amazonite.[4] Although it has been used for jewellery for well over three thousand years, as attested by archaeological finds in Middle and New Kingdom Egypt[8] and Mesopotamia, no ancient or medieval authority mentions it. It was first described as a distinct mineral only in the 18th century.[9]

Green and greenish-blue varieties of potassium feldspars that are predominantly triclinic are designated as amazonite.[10] It has been described as a "beautiful crystallized variety of a bright verdigris-green"[11] and as possessing a "lively green colour".[4] It is occasionally cut and used as a gemstone.[12]

Occurrence

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Amazonite is a mineral of limited occurrence. In Bronze Age Egypt, it was mined in the southern Eastern Desert at Gebel Migif. In early modern times, it was obtained almost exclusively from the area of Miass in the Ilmensky Mountains, 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Chelyabinsk, Russia, where it occurs in granitic rocks.[4]

Amazonite is now known to occur in various places around the world. Those places are, among others, as follows:

Australia:

China:

Libya:

Mongolia:

Ethiopia:

South Africa:

Sweden:

United States:

Color

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For many years, the source of amazonite's color was a mystery.[20] Some people assumed the color was due to copper because copper compounds often have blue and green colors.[20] A 1985 study suggests that the blue-green color results from quantities of lead and water in the feldspar.[20] Subsequent 1998 theoretical studies by A. Julg expand on the potential role of aliovalent lead in the color of microcline.[21]

Other studies suggest the colors are associated with the increasing content of lead, rubidium, and thallium ranging in amounts between 0.00X and 0.0X in the feldspars, with even extremely high contents of PbO, lead monoxide, (1% or more) known from the literature.[10] A 2010 study also implicated the role of divalent iron in the green coloration.[7] These studies and associated hypotheses indicate the complex nature of the color in amazonite; in other words, the color may be the aggregate effect of several mutually inclusive and necessary factors.[9]

Health

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A 2021 study by the German Institut für Edelsteinprüfung (EPI) found that the amount of lead ions that leaked from an 11 g (0.39 oz) sample of amazonite into an acidic solution simulating saliva exceeded European Union standard DIN EN 71-3:2013's recommended amount by five times. This experiment was to simulate a child swallowing amazonite, and could also apply to "crystal healing" practices such as inserting the mineral into drinking water bottles.[22]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  4. ^ a b c d e f Wikisource One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  7. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Harrell and Osman 2007
  9. ^ a b Mikhail Ostrooumov, Amazonite: Mineralogy, Crystal Chemistry, and Typomorphism (Elsevier, 2016), p. 1–12.
  10. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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Further reading

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  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons

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