STEENSTRUPINE

    Class : Silicates
    Subclass : Sorosilicates
    Crystal system : Trigonal
    Chemistry : Na14Ce6Mn2Fe2Zr(Si6O18)2(PO4)7(OH)2 3H2O
    Rarity : Very rare

Steenstrupine is a very complex silicate, which, through chemical substitutions, can contain high levels of rare earths (yttrium, zirconium, tantalum, uranium and thorium). It is typical of nepheline syenites, agpaites and associated pegmatites. It was named in honour of the Danish geologist Knud Johannes Vogelius Steenstrup who discovered the mineral in the Ilimaussaq alkaline complex (Greenland). Steenstrupine occurs in more or less flattened rhombohedra or pseudo-octahedra, black to reddish brown in colour. Its real potential as an ore of uranium, thorium and tantalum is limited by its rarity, it is really common only in Ilimaussaq.

Main photo : Steenstrupine from Kangerluarsuk Fjord, Ilimaussaq, Greenland © Harold Moritz

Steenstrupine in the World

The largest crystals of steenstrupine measure up to 10 cm and come from the Ilimaussaq intrusion (Greenland). Very good specimens are extracted in the nepheline syenite massif of Lovozero (Kola, Russia) as well as in the alkaline complex of Mont St-Hilaire (Quebec, Canada).

Right photo : Steenstrupine from Taseq Slope, Ilimaussaq, Greenland © Hercule Shen


Steenstrupine in France

Steenstrupine is not present in the French underground.

Twinning

No known twinning for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes listed for this mineral species.


Hardness : 4 to 5
Density : 3.38 to 3.47
Fracture : Conchoidal
Streak : White to white-brown

TP : Opaque
RI : 1.662 to 1.667
Birefringence : 0.003 to 0.004
Optical character : Uniaxial -
Pleochroism : Low
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Insoluble

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : Low

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