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Beryllonite
Current inventory:  2 gems
 

Beryllonite

  
Beryllonite is named for its chemical composition containing BERYLLium.

Discovered in 1888;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

 

Chemistry

 

 

Chemical Formula:

NaBe(PO4)

 

Sodium Beryllium Phosphate

Molecular Weight:

126.97 gm

Composition:

Sodium

18.11 %

Na

24.41 %

Na2O

 

Beryllium

7.10 %

Be

19.70 %

BeO

 

Phosphorus

24.39 %

P

55.90 %

P2O5

 

Oxygen

50.40 %

O

 

 

 

 

100.00 %

 

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

 

 

Classification

   

   

Mineral Classification:

Phosphates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

7/A.01-30

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

8.AA.10

 

8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
A : Phosphates, etc. without additional anions, without H
2O
A : With small cations (some also with larger ones)

Related to:

n/a

Varieties:

None

Synonyms:

None

 

 

Crystal Data

   

   

Crystallography:

Monoclinic - Prismatic

Crystal Habit:

Tabular on {010} to short prismatic || [010]; crystals may have many forms, especially k [100] and [010]; some faces typically etched to dullness, to 25 cm; also in spherical aggregates, fibrous, massive.

Twinning:

On {101}, contact and penetration twins; on {110} and {100} polysynthetic and pseudohexagonal stellate twins.

 

 

Physical Properties

   

 

Cleavage:

Perfect on {010}, Good but Interrupted on {100}, Indistinct on {101}, in traces on {001}

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

5.5 - 6.0

Density:

7.12 - 7.20 (g/cm3)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Fluid inclusions common. Slowly soluble in acids. Alters to Herderite.

 

 

Optical Properties

   

   

Color:

Colorless, White, Pale yellow

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Vitreous to Adamantine, may be Pearly

Refractive Index:

1.552 - 1.561  Biaxial ( - )

Birefringence:

0.0090

Dispersion:

Weak to Distinct; r < v

Pleochroism:

None

Other:

Fluid inclusions common.

 

 

Occurances

   

   

Geological Setting:

A rare secondary mineral in granitic and alkalic pegmatites.

Common Associations:

Herderite, Triplite, Beryl, Apatite, Cassiterite, Columbite, Eosphorite, Morinite, Väyrynenite, Lithiophilite, Elbaite, Pollucite, Petalite, Lepidolite, Albite, Orthoclase, Quartz.

Common Impurities:

None

Co-Type Localities:

Joe McKeen Mountain locality (McKean Mountain), Lovell, Oxford County, Maine, USA;
Melrose Farm Beryllonite prospects (McAllister prospects), Stoneham, Oxford County, Maine, USA

Year Discovered:

1888

View mineral photos:

Beryllonite Mineral Photos and Locations

 

 

More Information

   

   

 

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

 

 


Beryllonite is a rare beryllium mineral and a very rare collector's gem that was once found only at mines on Sugarloaf Mountain, near Stoneham, Maine, USA. It is now also available from Paprock, Laghman Province, Afghanistan and Linopolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a difficult gem to cut because of its perfect basal cleavage. Beryllonite gems lack color, fire and hardness but are very collectible due to their rarity. Beryllonite crystals form in pegmatitic dikes and can easily be confused with more common pegmatite minerals.

Locations for Beryllonite include: in the USA, in Maine, found on Sugarloaf Mountain, near Stoneham, at the Dunton quarry and the Bell Pit, Newry, Oxford County, and other minor occurrences. In Canada, occurs at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. Found at the Viitaniemi pegmatite, Eräjärvi, Finland. From the Norrö pegmatite, on Rånö Island, Sweden. In England, in the Meldon aplite, Okehampton, Devonshire. Large crystals from Paprock, Laghman Province, Afghanistan. Occurs in the Énio pegmatite mine, northeast of Galiléia; at the Lavra da Ilha pegmatite, in the Jequitinhonha River, three km north of Taquaral; and from the Almerindo mine, Linópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
 

  
Beryllonite gems for sale:

Beryllonite-001

Gem:

Beryllonite

Stock #:

BERYLL-001

Weight:

0.1535 ct

Size:

3.37 x 2.41 x 1.28 mm

Shape:

Round

Color:

Colorless

Clarity:

Eye Clean

Origin:

Laghman Province, Afghanistan

Treatment:

None (natural)

Price:

SOLD (but we have others)

Pictures are of the actual gem offered for sale.
Gem images are magnified to show detail.

Beryllonite-001

A very rare gem from Afghanistan that is eye clean and very bright.


Beryllonite-002

Gem:

Beryllonite

Stock #:

BERYLL-002

Weight:

0.0680 ct

Size:

3.45 x 2.06 x 1.20 mm

Shape:

Rectangle

Color:

Colorless

Clarity:

Eye Clean

Origin:

Laghman Province, Afghanistan

Treatment:

None (natural)

Price:

SOLD (but we have others)

Pictures are of the actual gem offered for sale.
Gem images are magnified to show detail.

Beryllonite-002

A very rare gem from Afghanistan that is eye clean and very bright.


 


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