Leifite

leifite

serandite

zinnwaldite

aegirine

Formula: Na₇Be₂(Si₁₅Al₃)O₃₉(F,OH)₂
Unclassified silicate, leifite group
Specific gravity: 2.57
Hardness: 6
Streak: White
Colour: Colourless
Common impurities: Ti,Fe,Mn,Zn,Mg,K,H₂O
Environments

Plutonic igneous environments
Pegmatites

Leifite occurs in cavities in alkali-pegmatite veins (Webmin).

Localities

At the Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Quebec, Canada, leifite is associated with an intrusive alkalic gabbro - syenite complex. Associated minerals include rhodochrosite and serandite (HOM).

At the type locality, the Narssârssuk pegmatite, Narsaarsuk Plateau, Igaliku, Kujalleq, Greenland, leifite occurs in the pegmatite associated with microcline, aegirine, zinnwaldite and calcite (HOM).

At the Shomiokitovoe pegmatite, Umbozero mine, Alluaiv Mountain, Lovozersky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia, leifite occurs in a differentiated alkalic massif, associated with albite and natrolite (HOM).

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