Sapphirine Group
A group of related mineral species
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About Sapphirine Group
Member of:
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
40091
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:40091:4
Chemical Analysis
Oxide wt%:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SiO2 | 14.6 % | 9.61 % | 12.10 % | 14.62 % |
| Al2O3 | 58.7 % | 66.50 % | 66.02 % | 44.63 % |
| TiO2 | 0.1 % | 0.01 % | 0.06 % | |
| FeO(tot) | 9.2 % | |||
| MgO | 16.9 % | 14.71 % | 16.26 % | 9.13 % |
| MnO | 0.1 % | 0.05 % | 0.20 % | |
| Cr2O3 | 0.02 % | |||
| FeO | 8.11 % | 0.46 % | ||
| CaO | 0.08 % | 15.36 % | ||
| Na2O | 0.01 % | 0.02 % | ||
| K2O | ||||
| V2O3 | 0.05 % | 10.64 % | ||
| Sc2O3 | 0.02 % | |||
| Fe2O3* | 0.62 % | |||
| FeO* | 5.69 % | |||
| NiO | 0.01 % | |||
| SrO | 0.01 % | |||
| Ti2O3 | 4.70 % | |||
| Total: | 99.6 % | 99.08 % | 101.08 % | 99.54 % |
wt%
| 5 | |
|---|---|
| Si | 4.02 % |
| Al | 27.19 % |
| Fe | 4.22 % |
| Mg | 5.71 % |
| O | 58.86 % |
| Total: | 100 % |
Empirical formulas:
| Sample ID | Empirical Formula |
|---|---|
| 3 | (Mg2.84Fe2+1.11Mn2+0.04Na0.01)(Mg2.83Al9.03Fe3+0.11Ti0.01)O4[Si2.83Al9.17O36] |
| 4 | (Ca2.00)(Al2.55Mg1.73V3+1.08Ti3+0.50Ca0.09Fe2+0.05)Σ6.01(Al4.14Si1.86)O20 |
Sample references:
| ID | Type | Locality | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A 146 | Sapphirine locality, Ivesdalsfjellet, Vikeså, Bjerkreim, Rogaland, Norway | Microprobe analyses | |
| 2 | sap2# | Danmarkshavn eclogites, Danmarkshavn, Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland | Retrograde sapphirine from a sapphirine+spinel+plagioclase symplectite after kyanite in a kyanite-eclogite. EMPA analysis. | |
| 3 | pt. 42 | Toyofuku, Uki City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan | small cluster of parallel prismatic sapphirine crystals, with biotite, accompanying corundum, spinel, and a fine-grained sericite+margarite alteration of what may have been pre-existing cordierite. *All Fe initially measured as Fe2+; Fe3+ (and Fe2O3) calculated from charge balance. | |
| 4 | Type Specimen | Acfer 214 meteorite, Foggaret Ezzaouia, In Salah District, In Salah Province, Algeria | Measured by electron probe microanalysis | |
| 5 | Sapphirine occurrence, Grønnøya, Meløy, Nordland, Norway | Microbrobe. O determined by substraction |
Crystal Structure
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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure
| ID | Species | Reference | Link | Year | Locality | Pressure (GPa) | Temp (K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0010820 | Sapphirine | Merlino S (1980) Crystal structure of sapphirine-1Tc Zeitschrift fur Kristallographie 151 91-100 |  | 1980 | Wilson Lake, Labrador, Canada | 0 | 293 |
| 0012322 | Sapphirine | Higgins J B, Ribbe P H (1979) A neutron and x-ray diffraction study of (Mg-Al)VI and (Si-Al)IV ordering monoclinic sapphirine Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 68 357-368 | 1979 | Bekily, Madagasgar | 0 | 293 | |
| 0012321 | Sapphirine | Higgins J B, Ribbe P H (1979) A neutron and x-ray diffraction study of (Mg-Al)VI and (Si-Al)IV ordering monoclinic sapphirine Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 68 357-368 | 1979 | Bekily, Madagasgar | 0 | 293 | |
| 0002331 | Khmaralite | Barbier J, Grew E S, Moore P B, Su S-C (1999) Khmaralite, a new beryllium-bearing mineral related to sapphirine: A superstructure resulting from partial ordering of Be, Al and Si on tetrahedral sites American Mineralogist 84 1650-1660 | | 1999 | 0 | 293 | |
| 0006761 | Sapphirine | Barbier J (1998) Crystal structures of sapphirine and surinamite analogues in the MgO-Ga2O3-GeO2 system European Journal of Mineralogy 10 1283-1293 | 1998 | 0 | 293 | ||
| 0000187 | Sapphirine | Moore P B (1969) The crystal structure of sapphirine American Mineralogist 54 31-49 | | 1969 | 0 | 293 |
CIF Raw Data - click here to close
Relationship of Sapphirine Group to other Species
Member of:
Other Members of Sapphirine Supergroup:
| Aenigmatite Group | A subgroup of the Sapphirine Supergroup. | |
| Beckettite | Ca2V6Al6O20 | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Devilliersite | Ca4Ca2Fe3+10O4[(Fe3+10Si2)O36] | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Khesinite | Ca4(Mg3Fe3+9)O4(Fe3+9Si3)O36 | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Rhönite Group | Subgroup of the Sapphirine Supergroup. | |
| Surinamite | (Mg,Fe)3Al4BeSi3O16 | Mon. 2/m |
| 'UM1988-26-SiO:AlMg' | Mg4Al2O[Si3Al2O15] |
Sapphirine Group Members:
| Addibischoffite | Ca2Al6Al6O20 | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Khmaralite | (Mg,Al,Fe)16[(Al,Si,Be)12O36]O4 | Mon. 2/m : P21/c |
| Louisfuchsite | Ca2(Mg4Ti2)(Al4Si2)O20 | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Sapphirine | Mg4(Mg3Al9)O4[Si3Al9O36] | Mon. 2/m : P21/c |
| 'UM2002-52-SiO:AlFeMg' | Mg4(Mg1.5Fe+20.3Fe+31.6Al8.5)O4[Si1.7Al10.3O36] | |
| Warkite | Ca2Sc6Al6O20 | Tric. 1 : P1 |
Click on any node to view relationships. Formula-derived relationship network for the group members above. Use Find related species to add formula-neighbour species outside the current group view. Solid links show inferred chemical differences; dashed violet links show same-formula crystallographic differences. Hydration states are not treated as relationship changes. These relationships do not imply any real-world substitution reactions between these species.
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Sapphirine Group in petrology
An essential component of rock names highlighted in red, an accessory component in rock names highlighted in green.
Internet Links for Sapphirine Group
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-40091.html
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References for Sapphirine Group
Reference List:
Christy, Andrew G., Putnis, Andrew (1988) Planar and line defects in the sapphirine polytypes. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 15 (6) 548-558 doi:10.1007/bf00311025
Localities for Sapphirine Group
Showing 200 localities.
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The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Morafeno thorianite deposit, Tranomaro, Amboasary Sud District, Anosy, Madagascar