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jadeite

File:Jadeite_(GeoDIL_number_-_1607).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition NaAlSi2O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades of green or white. Jadeite is formed only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature.

Key facts

Mineral.fluorescence
Dark colors are generally inert. Light green – inert to weak white in long wave, generally inert in short wave; light yellow – inert to weak green in long wave, generally inert in short wave; white – inert to weak in long wave, generally inert in short wave; light purple – inert to weak white or weak brownish red in long wave, generally inert in short wave; some dyed lavender colors – moderate to strong orange in long wave, weaker in short wave
Mineral.streak
White
Mineral.gravity
3.24 to 3.43
Mineral.diaphaneity
Translucent
Mineral.boxbgcolor
9bb854
Mineral.name
Jadeite
Mineral.category
Inosilicate minerals (single chain)
Mineral.group
Pyroxene group, clinopyroxene subgroup
Mineral.image
File:Jadeite (GeoDIL number - 1607).jpg
Mineral.caption
Jadeite from California
Mineral.formula
NaAlSi2O6 or Na(Al,Fe3+)Si2O6
Mineral.IMAsymbol
Jd
Mineral.strunz
9.DA.25
Mineral.system
Monoclinic
Mineral.class
Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol)
Mineral.symmetry
C2/c
Mineral.color
Apple-green, emerald-green, bluish green, leek-green, purplish blue, greenish white, white, black, may show green spots, rarely blue or violet; colorless in thin section. Often also banded.
Mineral.habit
Commonly massive, or fibrous, granular; prismatic crystals rare

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Ubehandlet grønn jade.jpg
Show 6 more facts
IMA Mineral Symbol
Jd
Nickel-Strunz 9th edition (updated 2009)
9.DA.25
Commons category
Jadeite
chemical formula
NaAlSi₂O₆
Nickel-Strunz '10th ed', review of (9th ed/ 2009 update)
9.DA.25
Strunz 8th edition (series ID, updated)
VIII/D.01c
Sources (1)

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Article

13 sections
Contents
  • Name
  • Properties
  • Chemistry and origin
  • Colors
  • Occurrence
  • Synthesis
  • Uses
  • Jade
  • Stone Age use
  • See also
  • References
  • Sources
  • External links

Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition NaAlSi2O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades of green or white. Jadeite is formed only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature.

Jadeite is the principal mineral making up the most valuable form of jade, a precious stone particularly prized in China. Most gem-quality jadeite jade comes from northern Myanmar. Jade tools and implements have been found at Stone Age sites, showing that the mineral has been prized by humans since before the beginning of written history.

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