Menu
Home Explore People Places Arts History Plants & Animals Science Life & Culture Technology
On this page
Lazulite
Phosphate mineral

Lazulite or Azure spar: 14  is a transparent to semi-opaque, blue mineral that is a phosphate of magnesium, iron, and aluminium, with the chemical formula (Mg,Fe2+)Al2(PO4)2(OH)2. Lazulite forms one endmember of a solid solution series with the darker, iron-rich scorzalite.

Lazulite crystallizes in the monoclinic system. Its crystal habits include steep bipyramidal or wedge-shaped crystals. Lazulite has a Mohs hardness of 5.5–6.0 and a specific gravity of 3.0–3.1. It is infusible and insoluble.

Related Image Collections Add Image
Profiles
1 Image
We don't have any YouTube videos related to Lazulite yet.
We don't have any PDF documents related to Lazulite yet.
We don't have any Books related to Lazulite yet.
We don't have any archived web articles related to Lazulite yet.

Occurrence and discovery

Lazulite forms by high-grade metamorphism of silica-rich rocks and in pegmatites. It occurs in association with quartz, andalusite, rutile, kyanite, corundum, muscovite, pyrophyllite, dumortierite, wagnerite, svanbergite, trolleite, and berlinite in metamorphic terrains; and with albite, quartz, muscovite, tourmaline and beryl in pegmatites.7 It may be confused with lazurite, lapis lazuli or azurite.

The type locality is in Freßnitzgraben in Krieglach, it's also found in Salzburg, Austria; Zermatt, Switzerland; Minas Gerais, Brazil; Lincoln County, Georgia; Inyo County, California; the Yukon in Canada; and elsewhere.

It was first described in 1795 for deposits in Styria, Austria.8 Its name comes from the German lazurstein, for 'blue stone'9 or from the Arabic for heaven.1011

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lazulite.

References

  1. Krivovichev V. G. Mineralogical glossary. Scientific editor A. G. Bulakh. — St.Petersburg: St.Petersburg Univ. Publ. House. 2009. — 556 p. (in Russian) https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%85_%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%96%D0%B9_%D0%93%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 ↩

  2. "Lazulite". Mindat.org. http://www.mindat.org/show.php?id=2356 ↩

  3. "Lazulite". Mindat.org. http://www.mindat.org/show.php?id=2356 ↩

  4. Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelius (1985). Manual of Mineralogy (20th ed.). Wiley. ISBN 0-471-80580-7. 0-471-80580-7 ↩

  5. "Lazulite". Minerals.net. https://minerals.net/mineral/lazulite.aspx ↩

  6. Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelius (1985). Manual of Mineralogy (20th ed.). Wiley. ISBN 0-471-80580-7. 0-471-80580-7 ↩

  7. "Lazulite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. RRUFF. Archived (PDF) from the original on Jul 5, 2021. http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/lazulite.pdf ↩

  8. "Lazulite". Mindat.org. http://www.mindat.org/show.php?id=2356 ↩

  9. "Lazulite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. RRUFF. Archived (PDF) from the original on Jul 5, 2021. http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/lazulite.pdf ↩

  10. "Lazulite". Mindat.org. http://www.mindat.org/show.php?id=2356 ↩

  11. Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelius (1985). Manual of Mineralogy (20th ed.). Wiley. ISBN 0-471-80580-7. 0-471-80580-7 ↩