Voloshinite, a new rubidium mica from granitic pegmatite of Voron’i Tundras, Kola Peninsula, Russia

Abstract

Voloshinite, a new mineral of the mica group, a rubidium analogue of lepidolite, has been found from the rare-element granitic pegmatite at Mt. Vasin-Myl’k, Voron’i Tundras, Kola Peninsula, Russia. It is closely associated with pollucite and lepidolite and commonly with muscovite, albite, and quartz; K,Rb-feldspar, rubicline, spodumene, montebrasite, and elbaite are among associated minerals as well. Voloshinite, a late mineral that formed after pollucite, commonly fills polymineralic veinlets and pods within the pollucite aggregates. It occurs as rims up to 0.05 mm thick around lepidolite, as intergrowths of tabular crystals up to 0.25 mm in size, and occasionally replaces lepidolite. The new mineral is colorless, transparent, with vitreous luster. Cleavage is eminent parallel to {001}; flakes are flexible. The calculated density is 2.95 g/cm³. The new mineral is biaxial (−), with 2V = 25°, α calc = 1.511, β = 1.586, and γ = 1.590. The optical orientation is Y = b, Z = a. The chemical composition of the type material determined by electron microprobe (average of five point analyses; Li has been determined with ICP-OES) is as follows (wt %): 0.03 Na₂O, 3.70 K₂O, 12.18 Rb₂O, 2.02 Cs₂O, 4.0 Li₂O, 0.03 CaO, 0.02 MgO, 0.14 MnO, 21.33 Al₂O₃, 53.14 SiO₂, 6.41 F, -O = F₂ 2.70, total is 100.30. The empirical formula is: (Rb_0.54K_0.33Cs_0.06)_Σ0.93(Al_1.42Li_1.11Mn_0.01)_Σ2.54(Si_3.68Al_0.32)_Σ4O₁₀ (F_1.40(OH)_0.60)_Σ2. The idealized formula is as follows: Rb(LiAl_1.5□_0.5)[Al_0.5Si_3.5O₁₀]F₂. Voloshinite forms a continuous solid solution with lepidolite. According to X-ray single crystal study, voloshinite is monoclinic, space group C2/c. The unit-cell dimensions are: a = 5.191, b = 9.025, c = 20.40 Å, β = 95.37°, V= 951.5 ų, Z = 4. Polytype is 2M ₁. The strongest reflections in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern (d, Å-I[hkl]) are: 10.1-60[001]; 4.55-80[020, 110, 11$\bar 1$]; 3.49-50[11$\bar 4$]; 3.35-60[024, 006]; 3.02-45[025]; 2.575-100[11$\bar 6$, 131, 20$\bar 2$, 13$\bar 4$], 2.017-50[136, 0.0.10]. The mineral was named in honor of A.V. Voloshin (born in 1937), the famous Russian mineralogist. The type material is deposited at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.