THE DISCOVERY OF SPODUMENE IN PETALITE PEGMATITE,TONGCHENG,HUBEI CHINA

Pegmatite containing mainly of petalite minerals was only reported in Tongcheng of Hubei province in China.In this paper,it presents the first discovery of spodumene in the Tongcheng pegmatite.The spodumene is of grey to white color,strong glassy in luster,with a density of 3.12,hardness between 6.5~7.0,and with veins parallel c axis.It was optically biaxial positive with Ng =1.675,Np=1.667,Nm=1.669,Ng-Np=0.008,and 2V= 60°.The analysis of chemical composition of the spodumene showed that w(Li2O)=7.61%,w(Al2O3)=27.72%,w(SiO2)=63.30%,w(K2O)=0.03%,w(Na2O)=0.19%,w(CaO)=0.05%,w(FeO)=0.21%,w(MnO)=0.35%,w(MgO)=0.11%,w(H2O+)=0.30%,and H2O=0.52%,Σ100.39%.The strongest X-ray diffraction characterized by 2.79(100),2.917(52),4.250(61),6.109(51),2.863(16),and 4.445(16).IR curves of the spodumene are also presented in this paper.