olenite

rossmanite

uvite

elbaite

Olenite

Images

Formula: NaAl₃Al₆(Si₆O₁₈(BO₃)₃O₃(OH)
Cyclosilicate (ring silicate), tourmaline group, forms a series with elbaite
Crystal System: Trigonal
Specific gravity: 3.010 measured, 3.12 calculated
Hardness: 7
Streak: White
Colour: Light pink, blue, pale bluish, pale greenish, colourless
Common impurities: Ti,Zn,Li,Fe,Mn,Mg,Ca,K,F,H2O
Environments:

Pegmatites

Olenite occurs in veins in granite pegmatites associated with elbaite, quartz, albite and K-feldspar (HOM, Dana).

Localities

At the type locality, Olenii Ridge, Voron'i Tundry, Murmansk Oblast, Russia, olenite occurs as the outer zone of acicular tourmaline crystals that are up to 3 mm long, associated with quartz and albite, in veins in pegmatite. The tourmaline cores are elbaite, and aluminium enrichment toward the edge of zoned crystals demonstrates a solid solution between elbaite and olenite (AM 73.441).

In the Grenville-age marbles from Newcomb, Essex County, New York, USA, olenite is found as crystals to 2mm, some showing transitions from olenite to rossmanite. The mineral was produced by fracturing followed by invasion of aluminum- and silica- rich fluids that reacted with uvite to form rossmanite and/or olenite; the fluids became sodium-rich toward the end of this stage and deposited albite and quartz (R&M 84.4.366).

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