7/11/2017 Aegirine: Aegirine mineral information and data.

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Aegirine
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Photos of Aegirine (678)

Aegirine Aegirine, etc. Aegirine, etc. Aegirine

Rundemyr, vre Eiker, Buskerud, Norway Razor, Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-
Malawi Hilaire, La Valle-du-Richelieu
RCM, Montrgie, Qubec, Canada

Aegirine Aegirine, etc. Aegirine, etc. Aegirine

Rundemyr, vre Eiker, Buskerud, Razor, Mount Malosa, Mount Malosa, Zomba Poudrette quarry,
Norway Zomba District, Malawi District, Malawi Mont Saint-Hilaire, La
Valle-du-Richelieu
RCM, Montrgie,
Qubec, Canada

Aegirine
Rundemyr, vre Eiker, Buskerud, Norway

Aegirine, etc.
Razor, Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi

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7/11/2017 Aegirine: Aegirine mineral information and data.

Formula: NaFe
3+
Si 2 O 6

System: Monoclinic Colour: Dark green to greenish ...

Lustre: Vitreous Hardness: 6

Member of: Clinopyroxene Subgroup >

Pyroxene Group

acmit by P. H. Strm (1821) from Rundemyr, vre Eiker, Buskerud, Norway for a gir
Name: First described as
mineral earlier mentioned shortly by Strm (1784, as "crystalliseret hornsteen eller brun kantet og
riflet Schoel i quarz" (crystallized hornstone or brownish angular and grooved schorl in quartz)).
Strm (1821) recognized it as a new mineral and suggested the name wernerin, after the german
geologist, Abraham Gottlob Werner. But Berzelius (1821), who analyzed the mineral, named it
achmit after the greek , spear point, due to the habit of the crystals.

Later, in 1834, the priest and mineralogist Hans Morten Thrane Esmark found a new mineral on
Lven, Langesundsfjorden, Norway which was described and given the name aegirine, after gir
(Aegir), the sea god in Norse mythology because the type location was along the sea shore
(Berzelius 1835). Acmite and aegirine were first believed to be two separate species, one
belonging to the amphiboles (acmite) and the other to the pyroxenes (aegirine). This was the case
until 1871 when G. Tschermak put forward evidence that acmite and aegirine both belonged to
the pyroxenes and are the same mineral. Acmite has been considered as a variety of aegirine
(historically acmite had priority, so it should have been the other way around).

Pyroxene Group. Clinopyroxene Subgroup.

Both acmite and aegirine have been used as designations of pyroxenes close to NaFe3+Si2O6 in composition. Acmite has also often been used to
refer to the brown variety with pointed terminations (usually {221} and {661}), while aegirine has been reserved for the green to green-black colour
varieties. Acmite has also been used to refer to the NaFe3+Si2O6 molecule, the so-called acmite-molecule in pyroxenes. In 1988 acmite was formally
discredited as a separate species, and aegirine was used as a name for the end member NaFe3+Si2O6 (Morimoto 1988).

However, at the Rundemyr locality, the TL, both brownish and green-black varieties occur as intergrowths. Raade has shown that the green aegirine
from Rundemyr has a higher content of FeO, TiO2, MnO and CaO and a lower content of Fe2O3 than the brown acmite (Raade 2010).

The deep colour typical for most aegirines is thought to be due to charge transfer transitions, mainly Fe2+-Ti4+, but also Fe2+-Fe3+, and crystal field
transitions related to Fe2+. A peculiar material that is colourless in thin section is described from Bayan Obo, China (Ribeiro Da Costa et al., 2014).

Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Aegirine.

Classification of Aegirine
IMA status: Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)

First Published: 1821

Approval Approved in 1988 (special procedure).

History:
Strunz 8th ed.: 8/F.01-140

Strunz 9th ed.: 9.DA.25

Nickel-Strunz 9.DA.25
10th (pending)
ed.: 9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
A : Inosilicates with 2-periodic single chains, Si2O6; pyroxene family

Dana 8th ed.: 65.1.3c.2

65 : INOSILICATES Single-Width,Unbranched Chains,(W=1)

1 : Single-Width Unbranched Chains, W=1 with chains P=2

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Hey's CIM Ref.: 14.20.2

14 : Silicates not Containing Aluminum

20 : Silicates of Fe and alkali metals

Physical Properties of Aegirine

Lustre: Vitreous

Diaphaneity Transparent, Opaque

(Transparency):
Comment: Slightly resinous

Colour: Dark green to greenish black, reddish brown, black

Comment: bright green to yellow-green in thin section

Streak: Pale yellowish grey

Hardness 6
(Mohs):
Tenacity: Brittle

Cleavage: Distinct/Good
Good on {110}

Parting: on {100}

Fracture: Irregular/Uneven

Density: 3.5 - 3.6 g/cm3 (Measured) 3.576 g/cm3 (Calculated)

Optical Data of Aegirine

Type: Biaxial (-)

RI values: n = 1.720 - 1.778 n = 1.740 - 1.819 n = 1.757 - 1.839

2V: Measured: 60 to 90, Calculated: 68 to 84

Max = 0.037 - 0.061

Birefringence: Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30m thickness) and does not take into account mineral colouration.

Surface Relief: Very High

Dispersion: moderate to strong r > v

Pleochroism: Visible

Comments: X= emerald green, deep green

Y= grass green, deep green, yellow
Z= brownish green, green, yellowish brown, yellow

Comments: Biaxial + for Ca,Mg,Fe varieties.

Chemical Properties of Aegirine

Formula: NaFe
3+
Si 2 O 6

Elements listed Fe, Na, O, Si - search for minerals with similar chemistry
in formula:
Common Al,Ti,V,Mn,Mg,Ca,K,Zr,Ce
Impurities:

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Crystallography of Aegirine
Crystal System: Monoclinic

Class (H-M): 2/m - Prismatic

Space Group: B2/b

Space Group C2/c
Setting:
Cell Parameters: a = 9.658 , b = 8.795 , c = 5.294
= 107.42

Ratio: a:b:c = 1.098 : 1 : 0.602

Unit Cell V 429.06 (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Volume:
Z: 4

Morphology: Prismatic crystals, showing 110, with blunt to steep terminations, to 35 cm, striated lengthwise, can be bent or twisted. In sprays of acicular
crystals, fibrous, in radial concretions.

Twinning: Simple and lamellar on {100}

Comment: On synthetic material.

Crystallographic forms of Aegirine

Crystal Atlas: Click on an icon to view
Aegirine no.35 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)

{661}, {110}, modified 3d models and HTML5 code kindly provided by www.smorf.nl.
Locality: Greenland
Flink 1894 ('Aegirin'). In: V.M. Goldschmidt, Atlas der Toggle
Krystallformen, 1913-1923 ('Pyroxen-Gruppe. Akmit. Edge Lines | Miller Indicies | Axes
Aegirin').
Transparency
Opaque | Translucent | Transparent

View
Along a-axis | Along b-axis | Along c-axis | Start rotation | Stop rotation

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X-Ray Powder
Diffraction:

Radiation - Copper K
Data Set: Mont Saint-Hilaire, Rouville County, Quebec, Canada 140
Data courtesy of RRUFF project at University of Arizona, used with permission.

Occurrences of Aegirine
Type Occurrence of Aegirine
Co-type Rundemyr, vre Eiker, Buskerud, Norway
Localities: Lven (Skdn; Lam; Lamanskjaer), Langesundsfjorden, Larvik, Vestfold, Norway

Relationship of Aegirine to other Species

Member of: Clinopyroxene Subgroup > Pyroxene Group

Other Members 3+ 2+
Aegirine-augite (Na,Ca)(Fe ,Fe ,Mg,Al)Si 2 O 6
of Group:
2+ 3+
Augite (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe ,Al,Fe ,Ti)[(Si,Al) 2 O 6 ]

Clinoenstatite MgSiO 3

2+
Clinoferrosilite Fe SiO 3

Diopside CaMgSi 2 O 6

3+
Esseneite CaFe [AlSiO 6 ]

2+
Hedenbergite CaFe Si 2 O 6

3+
Jadeite Na(Al,Fe )Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
Jervisite (Na,Ca,Fe )(Sc,Mg,Fe )Si 2 O 6

2+
Johannsenite CaMn Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
Kanoite Mn (Mg,Mn )Si 2 O 6

Kosmochlor NaCrSi 2 O 6

Kushiroite CaAl[AlSiO 6 ]

3+
Namansilite NaMn Si 2 O 6

3+
Natalyite NaV Si 2 O 6

Omphacite (Ca,Na)(Mg,Al)Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
Petedunnite Ca(Zn,Mn ,Mg,Fe )Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
Pigeonite (Mg,Fe ,Ca)(Mg,Fe )Si 2 O 6

Spodumene LiAlSi 2 O 6

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Common Aenigmatite Arfvedsonite Catapleiite K Feldspar Riebeckite

Associates: Apophyllite Astrophyllite Eudialyte Nepheline Serandite

Related Minerals 2+
9.DA.05 Donpeacorite (Mn ,Mg)Mg[SiO 3 ] 2
- Nickel-Strunz
Grouping): MgSiO 3
9.DA.05 Enstatite

9.DA.05 Ferrosilite FeSiO 3

9.DA.10 Clinoenstatite MgSiO 3

2+
9.DA.10 Clinoferrosilite Fe SiO 3

2+ 2+
9.DA.10 Kanoite Mn (Mg,Mn )Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
9.DA.10 Pigeonite (Mg,Fe ,Ca)(Mg,Fe )Si 2 O 6

2+ 3+
9.DA.15 Augite (Ca,Na)(Mg,Fe ,Al,Fe ,Ti)[(Si,Al) 2 O 6 ]

9.DA.15 Diopside CaMgSi 2 O 6

3+
9.DA.15 Esseneite CaFe [AlSiO 6 ]

2+
9.DA.15 Hedenbergite CaFe Si 2 O 6

2+
9.DA.15 Johannsenite CaMn Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
9.DA.15 Petedunnite Ca(Zn,Mn ,Mg,Fe )Si 2 O 6

9.DA.15 Davisite CaScAlSiO 6

9.DA.15 Kushiroite CaAl[AlSiO 6 ]

3+
9.DA.15 Grossmanite CaTi AlSiO 6

3+ 2+
9.DA.20 Aegirine-augite (Na,Ca)(Fe ,Fe ,Mg,Al)Si 2 O 6

9.DA.20 Omphacite (Ca,Na)(Mg,Al)Si 2 O 6

3+
9.DA.25 Jadeite Na(Al,Fe )Si 2 O 6

2+ 2+
9.DA.25 Jervisite (Na,Ca,Fe )(Sc,Mg,Fe )Si 2 O 6

9.DA.25 Kosmochlor NaCrSi 2 O 6

3+
9.DA.25 Namansilite NaMn Si 2 O 6

3+
9.DA.25 Natalyite NaV Si 2 O 6

9.DA.30 Spodumene LiAlSi 2 O 6

Related Minerals 14.20.1 Emeleusite Li 2 Na 4 Fe 2 Si 12 O 30

- Hey's Index
Grouping: 14.20.4 Wilkinsonite
2+ 3+
Na 2 Fe 4 Fe 2 (Si 6 O 18 )O 2

14.20.5 Tuperssuatsiaite Na 2 Fe 3 Si 8 O 20 (OH) 2 4H 2 O

2+ 3+
14.20.6 Riebeckite [Na 2 ][Fe 3 Fe 2 ]Si 8 O 22 (OH) 2

2+ 3+
14.20.7 Ferri-annite KFe 3 ((Fe ,Al)Si 3 O 10 )(OH) 2

14.20.8 Fenaksite (K,Na) 4 (Fe,Mn) 2 (Si 4 O 10 ) 2 (OH,F)

2+ 2+
14.20.9 Montdorite (K,Na) 2 (Fe ,Mn ,Mg) 5 (Si 4 O 10 ) 2 (OH,F) 4

Other Names for Aegirine

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Synonyms: Acmite Aegerite Aegyrine Agirine Soda-Aegirite

Acnite Aegirite Aegyrite Jadeite-Aegirine

Aegerine Aegyrina Aemite Natrongirin

Name in Other Croatian: Aegirin

Languages:
Dutch: Aegirien

Estonian: giriin

Finnish: Akmiitti

German: Aegirin
Achmit
Acmit
Acnit
Aegerit
Aegirit
Aegyrit
Aemit
Agerit
girin
Aigirin
Akmit

Hebrew:

Italian: Egirina

Japanese:

Norwegian girin
(Bokml):
Polish: Egiryn

Portuguese: Egirina

Russian:

Simplified Chinese:
Spanish: Egirina
Acmita

Ukrainian: -

Varieties: Fedorovite Titanian Aegirine Urbanite Vanadian Aegirine

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.

Aegirine in petrology
An essential component of (items highlighted in red)

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Igneous rock
Normal crystalline igneous rock
Coarse-grained ("plutonic") crystalline igneous rock
Granitoid
Alkali-feldspar-granite
Peralkaline alkali-feldspar-granite
Ekerite
Fasibitikite
Syenitoid
Alkali-feldspar-syenite
Peralkaline alkali-feldspar-syenite
Lusitanite
Syenite
Peralkaline syenite
Angolaite
Foid-syenitoid
Foid-syenite
Nepheline-syenite
Grennaite
Lakarpite
Saibarite
Lujavrite
Cancrinite-syenite
Busorite
Leucocratic cancrinite-syenite
Deldoradite
Foidolite
Sodalitolite
Naujaite
Coarse-grained-ultramafic-rock
Pyroxenite
Pyroxenite (s.s.)
Clinopyroxenite
Aegirinite
Fine-grained ("volcanic") normal crystalline igneous rock
Tephritoid
Tephrite
Leucite-tephrite
Analcime-tephrite
Dancalite
Anam-aegisodite
Exotic crystalline igneous rock
Rock of restricted mineralogy
Aegirine-nepheline-rock

Metamorphic rock
Metasomatic-rock
Charoitite
Fault-related alkaline metasomatite

Common component of (items highlighted in red)

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Igneous rock
Normal crystalline igneous rock
Coarse-grained ("plutonic") crystalline igneous rock
Foid-syenitoid
Foid-syenite
Nepheline-syenite
Kaxtorpite
Foidolite
Sodalitolite
Tawite
Nephelinolite
Apatite nephelinolite
Exotic crystalline igneous rock
Rock of restricted mineralogy
Apatitolite
Nepheline-bearing apatitolite
Eudialytite

Metamorphic rock
Metasomatic-rock
Fault-related alkaline metasomatite
Albitized granite
Albitized gneiss
Apojasperoid

References for Aegirine

Reference List: Strm, P. (1821) Underskning af ett nytt Fossil. Kongliga Vetenskaps-Academiens Handlingar: 160-163. [Acmite]

Berzelius, J. (1821) Tillgg til fregende Afhandling. Kongliga Vetenskaps-Academiens Handlingar: 163-166. [Acmite]

Berzelius, J. (1835) Neues Jahrbuch fr Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde (von Leonard und Bonn): 1835: 184-185.
[Aegirine, Esmark]

(1876) Neues Jahrbuch fr Mineralogie: 175: 352-358.

Anonymous (1947) Til opprinnelsen av mineralnavnet girin. Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift: 26: 144-145.

Clark, J.R., Appleman, D.E., Papike, J.J. (1969) Crystal-chemical characterization of clinopyroxenes based on eight new structure refinements. MSA
Special Paper: 2: 31-50.

Cameron, M., Shigeho, S., Prewitt, C.T., Papike, J.J. (1973) High temperature crystal chemistry of acmite, diopside, hedenbergite, jadeite,
spodumene and ureyite. American Mineralogist: 58: 594-618.

Morimoto, N., Fabries, J., Ferguson, A.K., Ginzburg, I.V., Ross, M., Seifert, F.A., Zussman, J., Aoki, K., Gottardi, G. (1988) Nomenclature of
Pyroxenes. American Mineralogist: 73: 1123-1133.

Raade, G. (2010) Chemical composition of acmite/aegirine intergrowths from Rundemyr, Eiker. Norsk Bergverksmuseum Skrift: 43: 29-34.

Ribeiro Da Costa, I., Rodrigues, C.R., Barriga, F.J.A.S., Rona, P.A., Nunes, C.D., Vaz, P.D. (2014): Colourless aegirine in metamorphic rocks from
Bayan Obo (Inner Mongolia): lack of charge transfer transitions as possible explanation. European Journal of Mineralogy: 25(6): 987-993.

Internet Links for Aegirine

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Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project
American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database
Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

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