'Aegirine' is an
inosilicate member of the clino
pyroxene group. Aegirine is the sodium endmenber of the aegirine-
augite series. Aegirine has the chemical formula NaFeSi
2O
6 in which the iron is present as Fe
3+. In the aegirine-augite series the sodium is variably replaced by calcium with iron(II) and magnesium replacing the iron(III) to balance the charge. Aluminium also substitutes for the iron(III). It is also known as ''acmite''.
Aegirine occurs as dark green
monoclinic prismatic crystals. It has a glassy lustre and perfect cleavage. The
Mohs hardness varies from 5 to 6 and the
specific gravity is 3.2 to 3.4.
It occurs in alkali
nepheline syenites and similar
igneous rocks. Localities include
Mont Saint-Hilaire,
Quebec,
Canada;
Kongsberg,
Norway; Narsarssuk,
Greenland;
Kola Peninsula,
Russia;
Magnet Cove,
Arkansas, USA;
Kenya;
Scotland and
Nigeria.
Aegirine was named after
Ægir, the
Teutonic god of the sea. A synonym for the mineral is ''acmite'' (from
Greek) in reference to the typical pointed crystals.
References
★
Mindat
★
Webmineral
★
Mineral Galleries
★ Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, ''Manual of Mineralogy'', 20th ed., ISBN 0-471-80580-7