LABUNTSOVITE

    Class : Silicates
    Subclass : Sorosilicates
    Crystal system : Monoclnic
    Chemistry : (K,Na)3Ti2(SiO3)4(O,OH)2 nH2O
    Rarity : Very rare

Labuntsovite is a very rare mineral group found in alkaline rocks deficient in silica (nepheline syenites, carbonatites, etc...). It consists of 3 distinct species, labuntsovite-Fe, labuntsovite-Mg and labuntsovite-Mn. It was named in honor of the Russian mineralogists Aleksander Nikolaevich Labuntsov and Ekaterina Evtikhieva Kostyleva-Labuntsova whose work focused mainly on the Kola Peninsula. Labuntsovite occurs in centimeter-sized prismatic to acicular crystals (up to 15 mm), often in radiated aggregates or spherolites, red to yellow-brown in color.

Main photo : Labuntsovite from Poudrette quarry, Mont St-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada © Stephan Wolfsried

Labuntsovite from Aris, Windhoek Rural, Khomas, Namibia © Stephan Wolfsried
Labuntsovite from N'orkpakhk Mt, Khibiny Massif, Russia © Eugene & Sharon Cisneros
Labuntsovite from Poudrette quarry, Mont St-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada © Jason B. Smith
Labuntsovite from Aris, Windhoek Rural, Khomas, Namibia © Jason B. Smith

Labuntsovite in the World

Good crystals of labuntsovite have been discovered in the alkaline massifs of the Kola Peninsula (Russia), often as alteration of murmanite, and in association with elpidite at Mont St-Hilaire (Canada).

Labuntsovite in France

Labuntsovite is not present in the French underground.

Twinning

No twin are known for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes recorded for this mineral species.


Hardness : 5 to 6
Density : 2.89 to 3.02
Fracture : Sub-conchoidal
Streak : White

TP : Translucent to transparent
RI : 1.684 to 1.814
Birefringence : 0.108 to 0.119
Optical character : Biaxial +
Pleochroism : Visible
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Hydrofluoric acid

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None

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