The Mineral SERANDITE
- Chemistry: Na(Mn, Ca)2Si3O8(OH), Sodium Manganese Calcium Silicate Hydroxide
- Class: Silicates
- Subclass: Inosilicates
- Uses: Only as mineral specimens.
Specimens
Serandite forms a series with the mineral pectolite, NaCa2Si3O8(OH). The structures are similar but serandite has a significant percentage of manganese ions which substitute for a portion of the calciums in the pectolite. It is the manganese ions which cause the pink color of serandite. Several other manganese minerals have a distinct pink color such as the carbonate rhodochrosite and the silicates rhodonite and inesite. However serandite's color is more of a salmon pink the these pink minerals and it has a silky luster that is distinct.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
- Color is pink to reddish pink and off white.
- Luster is vitreous to silky.
- Transparency crystals are transparent to translucent.
- Crystal System is triclinic; bar 1
- Crystal Habits include prismatic crystals with a distorted hexagonal cross-section. Also massive and compact.
- Cleavage is perfect in two directions at close to right angles.
- Fracture is splintery due to the cleavage.
- Hardness is 4.5
- Specific Gravity is approximately 3.2 - 3.4 (above average for translucent)
- Streak is white.
- Associated Minerals include calcite, analcime, vesuvianite, grossular garnetand many extremely rare minerals.
- Notable Occurrences include the famous mines at St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada and Roma Island, Los Islands, Guinea.
- Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, color, luster, associations, locality and cleavage.
 Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery MINERALS |
SERANDITE specimen srd-1
$ 155.00
$ 155.00
Dims: 2.0 x 2.0 x 1.6" (5.1 x 5.1 x 4.1 cm)
Wt: 3.71 oz. (105.4 g)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
Scores of small, intergrown Serandite crystals partly coat the feldspar host rock of this specimen. These crystals are generally in good condition, showing a few areas of noticeable damage, and do not exceed 0.2" (5 mm) along any axis. Although they are somewhat intergrown, their triclinic form is still quite good- their edges are relatively well-defined and their faces are striated but clean, possessing a bright pearly luster. All have a pale, rosy-pink coloration and are at least dimly transparent, with internal fractures providing some interference. The dull, white base on which they rest is made of either albite or orthoclase, and though it is crystalline, is too badly damaged for one to effectively examine its crystal form. It is suffused with a variety of other minerals that could include quartz, epidote, aegirine, and possibly others that I cannot identify.
srd-1 ($155.00)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
SERANDITE specimen srd-2
$ 65.00
$ 65.00
Dims: 1.6 x 1.2 x 1.0" (4.1 x 3.0 x 2.5 cm)
Wt: 27.9 g w/ base
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
This specimen consists of a base of crystalline Serandite in which is partly embedded a single Aegirine crystal. The Serandite crystals that make up the base are heavily intergrown, and many of them are damaged. However, there are still many present that are in excellent condition and show impressively good and well-defined triclinic crystals with shallow pinacoidal termaitions. Their edges are well-defined and their termination faces are clean, possessing a pearly luster. Their prism faces are a bit disjointed, and tend to have a dull waxy luster. All have a pale pink coloration and are essentially opaque. None of these crystals exceecds 0.5" (1.3 cm) in length or 0.3" (8 mm) in either of the other dimensions. The aegirine crystal that they hold is 1.5" (3.8 cm) in length and in excellent condition. There is a visible crack running across the crystal, but it has not been broken. It has excellent monoclinic prismatic form, and is essentially black in color and pearly-to-vitreous in luster. The specimen is hot-glued onto a flat, square acrylic base.
srd-2 ($ 65.00)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
SERANDITE specimen srd-3$ 225.00
Dims: 2.2 x 1.7 x 1.5" (5.6 x 4.3 x 3.8 cm)
Wt: 2.40 oz. (68.1 g) g w/ base
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
Two heavily intergrown but definable serandite crystals rest on this specimen. They appear to be in excellent condition, showing very little damage, and have reasonably good triclinic prismatic form, considering their intergrowth. Their edges are well-defined, and their faces are rather heavily striated but clean. They have the standard pink color and pearly luster of Serandite, and are partly intergrown with a few intersecting biotite books. Both minerals in turn rest on a base of intergrown analcime trapezohedrons through which run several black crystals that are very thin and long- they could be aegirines. There is also a small network of many intersecting, dull white blades that I cannot identify- all are badly damaged so that one cannot determine their crystal form. The specimen is documented as being damaged, and though I am relatively certain about the repaired area, I would not believe that it was damaged until I read the documentation. It is affixed to a flat, square acrylic base with hot-glue.
srd-3 ($225.00)Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
SERANDITE specimen srd-4
$ 300.00
$ 300.00
Dims: 1.6 x 1.0 x 0.5" (4.2 x 2.6 x 1.3 cm)
Wt: 0.7 oz. (20 g)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
Three Serandite crystals make up the bulk of this specimen. All of them are damaged to a degree - two are rather heavily damaged and not quite complete - but this damage does not look as if it occurred recently. All have dimensions of about 1.3 x 0.8 x 0.1" (3.3 x 2.0 x 0.3 cm) and show good triclinic form; their habit is tabular or bladed, which I have not seen before in this mineral. All have the pink coloration and silky luster that are common for this specie, and are translucent. The Serandites are accompanied by a few milky analcime trapezohedra and a few tiny aegirine needles.
srd-4 ($300.00)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
SERANDITE specimen srd-5
$ 120.00
$ 120.00
Dims: 1.3 x 1.3 x 1.1" (3.3 x 3.3 x 2.8 cm)
Wt: 1.4 oz. (40 g)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
At least 7 intergrown Serandite crystals make up the bulk of this thumbnail piece. These crystals are generally in excellent condition, as they show almost no damage. The largest of these has dimensions of 1.2 x 0.4 x 0.3" (3.0 x 1.0 x 0.8 cm), though their "base" appears to consist of a larger, highly warped crystal. Besides this base, all have very good triclinic prismatic form and a pseudo-hexagonal shape that is elongated along one axis. Their salmon-pink color and silky luster are standard for the specie, as is their dim translucence. The Serandite serves as a base for several broken analcime crystals, but there is no host material present.
srd-5 ($120.00)
Mount Saint Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
SERANDITE specimen srd-6
$ 150.00
$ 150.00
Dims: 1.8x1.25x2.9" (4.6x3.2x7.5 cm)
Wt: 3.8 oz. (108g)
Mt. St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
This hand specimen is almost all serandite, although the back of the specimen has several analcime crystals of which only the smallest are undamaged, and some small transparent colorless boxy crystals which I believe to be natrolite. The serandite is the standard pink color and takes the form of a spray of closely packed crystals. They have a vitreous luster in the areas that look like cleavage surfaces (many of them), and the other surfaces are very dull, with a coating that looks like more serandite. I suspect that most if not all of the terminations are fracture surfaces - they mostly look splintery.
srd-6 ($150.00)
Mt. St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada
SERANDITE specimen srd-7
$ 45.00
$ 45.00
Dims: 1.3x0.7x0.9" (3.3x1.9x2.4 cm)
Wt: 0.4 oz. (11.5g)
Mt. St. hilaire, Quebec, Canada
This specimen is nearly all serandite. The crystals, though incomplete, have the proper color and form for this mineral. Also present are 6 or 7 black analcime crystals, all with fractured ends. There is also a cluster of colorless transparent prismatic blades with good terminations (sometimes hidden under a white crust) - I do not know what this mineral could be.
srd-7 ($ 45.00)
Mt. St. hilaire, Quebec, Canada