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Sodium amphibole mineral

Arfvedsonite

Arfvedsonite
All data from the card 24
Category
InosilicatesAmphiboles
Formula
[Na][Na2][(Fe2+)4Fe3+][(OH)2|Si8O22]
IMA symbol
Arf
Strunz classification
9.DE.25 (10 ed) VIII/F.08-100 (8 ed)
Dana classification
66.1.3c.9
Crystal system
Monoclinic
Crystal class
Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol)
Space group
C2/m
Color
Black, deep green on thin edges
Crystal habit
Fibrous, radial prismatic aggregates
Twinning
Simple or lamellar parallel to [100]
Cleavage
Perfect on [110]
Fracture
Uneven
Tenacity
Brittle
Mohs scale hardness
5–6
Luster
Vitreous
Streak
Deep bluish gray, gray-green
Diaphaneity
Translucent to opaque
Specific gravity
3.3–3.5
Optical properties
Biaxial (−)
Refractive index
nα = 1.652–1.699 nβ = 1.660–1.705 nγ = 1.666–1.708
Birefringence
δ = 0.014
Pleochroism
Strong: Blue-greens, yellow-browns, gray-violets
Dispersion
r > v strong

Arfvedsonite () or soda hornblende (partiellement obsolète) is a sodium amphibole mineral with composition: [Na][Na2][(Fe2+)4Fe3+][(OH)2|Si8O22]. It crystallizes in the monoclinic prismatic crystal system and typically occurs as greenish black to bluish grey fibrous to radiating or stellate prisms.

It is a rather rare mineral occurring in nepheline syenite intrusions and agpaitic (peralkaline) pegmatites and granites as the Golden Horn batholith in Okanogan County, Washington (type locality for zektzerite). Occurrences include Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada; the Ilímaussaq complex in Southern Greenland; and in pegmatites of the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Its mineral association includes nepheline, albite, aegirine, riebeckite, katophorite and quartz.

Arfvedsonite was discovered in 1823 and named for the Swedish chemist Johan August Arfwedson (1792–1841).

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