Mineral Factbook

Elbaite

Na(Al1.5Li1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH)IMA symbol: Elbgrandfathered

Elbaite is a silicate mineral with the formula Na(Al1.5Li1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH), crystallizing in the trigonal system. It has a calculated density of 3.152 g/cm3. Its streak is white.

Photos

Elbaite specimen photo
Mauro Cateb · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Elbaite specimen photo
Simeon87 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Elbaite specimen photo
thisisbossi from Washington, DC, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Elbaite specimen photo
Carlesmillan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons

Crystallography

Crystal systemtrigonal crystal systemWikidata (CC0)
Space groupR 3 m :H
Cell (Å, °)a = 15.881, b = 15.881, c = 7.112; α = 90, β = 90, γ = 120
Cell volume1553.38 ų, Z = 3
Axial ratios1.0000:1:0.4478calculated from COD 9016956
Source structureCOD 9016956 (American Mineralogist, 2013) — 1 of 34 structures

Powder X-ray diffraction (calculated)

2θ (degrees, Cu Kα1)I/I₀ (max 100)
d (Å)2.5653.972.9354.1973.4432.029
I/I₀10063.462.753.649.139.9

xrd-v1: CuKa1 1.5406A, 2theta 5-90, top10, Imax=100, no DW/PO. Computed from COD 9016956; idealized occupancies, no preferred orientation.

Physical properties

Density (calculated)3.152 g/cm³calculated from COD 9016956
Streak
whitesingle sourceWikidata (CC0)

Chemistry (calculated)

Molecular weight936.72 g/molcalculated from the IMA formula
Composition (wt%)Na 2.45%, Al 21.6%, Li 1.11%, Si 17.99%, O 52.95%, B 3.46%, H 0.43%

Classification

Nickel-Strunz (10th)9.CK.05Wikidata (CC0)
Nickel-Strunz (9th)9.CK.05Wikidata (CC0)
Dana (8th)61.3.1.8Wikidata (CC0)