{"title":"Spodumene","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpodumene\u003c\/strong\u003e is a lithium aluminum silicate (LiAlSi2O6) belonging to the \u003cstrong\u003eclinopyroxene group\u003c\/strong\u003e, prized both as a critical lithium ore and as the source of some of the finest colored gem crystals in mineralogy. Named from the Greek for \"burnt to ashes\" and first described from \u003cstrong\u003eUtö\u003c\/strong\u003e, Sweden, it forms elongated, deeply striated prismatic crystals in lithium-rich \u003cstrong\u003eLCT (lithium-cesium-tantalum) pegmatites\u003c\/strong\u003e, typically alongside \u003cstrong\u003equartz\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003ealbite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003epetalite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eeucryptite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003elepidolite\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eberyl\u003c\/strong\u003e. Its two cleavage directions are famously perfect, making faceted stones fragile but giving matrix specimens a sharp, glassy brilliance collectors seek out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree color varieties define the gem side of the species: pink-to-violet \u003cstrong\u003ekunzite\u003c\/strong\u003e, colored by trace manganese and named in 1902 for gemologist George F. Kunz; emerald-green \u003cstrong\u003ehiddenite\u003c\/strong\u003e, colored by chromium and first found near \u003cstrong\u003eStony Point\u003c\/strong\u003e and the town of \u003cstrong\u003eHiddenite\u003c\/strong\u003e in Alexander County, North Carolina; and yellow \u003cstrong\u003etriphane\u003c\/strong\u003e. All three display strong pleochroism, shifting from near-colorless along one axis to their deepest hue along another. Classic kunzite localities include the \u003cstrong\u003ePala district\u003c\/strong\u003e of San Diego County, California — home to the \u003cstrong\u003ePala Chief Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eOceanview Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eKaterina Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e — plus \u003cstrong\u003eMinas Gerais\u003c\/strong\u003e in Brazil and \u003cstrong\u003eAnjanabonoina\u003c\/strong\u003e in Madagascar's Sahatany Valley. The single most important modern source, however, is the \u003cstrong\u003eNuristan\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eKunar\u003c\/strong\u003e pegmatite belt of Afghanistan, including the \u003cstrong\u003eParon\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eKolum\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eMawi\u003c\/strong\u003e deposits, where enormous, intensely colored kunzite crystals are still hand-mined from remote Hindu Kush valleys. True hiddenite remains far rarer, essentially confined to its North Carolina type locality, while green spodumene from Brazil and Afghanistan lacking chromium is not considered genuine hiddenite by strict definition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond its gem varieties, spodumene is legendary for producing some of the largest crystals ever recorded in nature: the \u003cstrong\u003eEtta Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e near Keystone in the \u003cstrong\u003eBlack Hills\u003c\/strong\u003e of South Dakota yielded single crystals up to 14.3 meters (47 feet) long and roughly 90 tons in weight, alongside other historic American localities such as the \u003cstrong\u003eHarding Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e in New Mexico and the \u003cstrong\u003eFoote Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e at Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Today the \u003cstrong\u003eGreenbushes pegmatite\u003c\/strong\u003e in Western Australia and Congo's \u003cstrong\u003eManono\u003c\/strong\u003e deposit anchor global lithium production, but for collectors it is the gemmy, bicolored, or sharply terminated crystals — whether lilac Afghan kunzite, chromium-green Carolina hiddenite, or massive striated specimens from classic pegmatite fields — that make spodumene a cornerstone of any serious pegmatite mineral collection.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/www.italmineral.com\/collections\/spodumene.oembed","provider":"ITALMINERAL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}