UVITE

    Class : Silicates
    Subclass : Cyclosilicates
    Crystal system : Trigonal
    Chemistry : Ca(Mg,Fe)3Al5Mg(BO3)3Si6O18(OH,F)4
    Rarity : Uncommon

Uvite is a mineral of the tourmaline group. It is typically found in marbles or in calcium-rich formations affected by a metasomatic process bringing boron. Its name comes from its discovery locality : Uva (Sri Lanka). Usually black to brown in color, it can also be dark grayish green, sometimes red. Its crystals are usually short prisms, showing the triangular cross section with convex sides characteristic of the tourmaline group. It has anecdotal use as a gemstone.

Main photo : Uvite from Pomba pit, Serra das Eguas, Brumado, Bahia, Brazil © Dan Weinrich

Fluor-uvite from Pomba pit, Serra das Eguas, Brumado, Bahia, Brazil
Uvite from Pomba pit, Serra das Eguas, Brumado, Bahia, Brazil © Oleg Lopatkin
Uvite on quartz from Brumado, Bahia, Brazil © Lawrence Violett
Uvite from Mogok, Myanmar © Rob Lavinsky

Uvite in the World

Uvite is known in decimetric crystals. Superb 5 cm crystals, sometimes transparent and shaded with green or orange-red, come from the Brumado magnesite mine (Bahia, Brazil). Large crystals have also been extracted from marbles in many sites in New York State (Pierrepont, Gourverneur, DeKalb) and in Franklin (New Jersey). A chromiferous variety is known at Landanai (Tanzania). Uvite is abundant in the gemmiferous placers of Uva (Sri Lanka), its type locality.

Uvite in France

In France, uranospinite is reported in the Rabejac deposit near Lodève (Hérault).

Twinning

No known twins for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes listed for this mineral species.


Hardness : 7.5
Density : 3.11
Fracture : Conchoidal
Streak : Gray

TP : Translucent to transparent
RI : 1.640 to 1.660
Birefringence : 0.020
Optical character : Uniaxial -
Pleochroism : Visible
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Insoluble

Magnetism : ParamagneticRadioactivity : None

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