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Spodumene as a Gemstone
Spodumene sometimes occurs in transparent crystals in pastel shades of pink, purple, green, and yellow. These have been cut into gemstones that are prized by collectors. However, their use in jewelry is limited to pieces that will be subject to limited abuse because of spodumene’s perfect cleavage. Kunzite Pink to lilac specimens of gem-quality spodumene are highly…
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Spodumene as an Ore of Lithium
Spodumene once served as the most important ore of lithium metal. It was very costly to liberate lithium from the silicate mineral; however, lithium refined from spodumene was of very high purity. In the late 1900s, subsurface brines with high concentrations of lithium were developed in Argentina, Chile, China and other locations. These brines could be pumped to the…
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Enormous Crystals
Spodumene often occurs in extremely large crystals. One of the earliest accounts of large spodumene crystals is from the Etta Mines, Black Hills, Pennington County, South Dakota. The United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 610 reports: “The crystals are often of enormous size. In the Etta Mine, where they are best exposed both in the open…
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What is Spodumene?
Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral that is typically found in lithium-rich pegmatites. It is usually associated with other lithium minerals such as lepidolite, eucryptite, and petalite. Spodumene has a chemical composition of LiAlSi2O6 but small amounts of sodium sometimes substitute for lithium. Throughout most of the 20th century, spodumene was the most important ore of lithium metal. Lithium brines discovered in South America and…
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Turkish rice Recipe
INGREDIENTS: INSTRUCTIONS: NOTES This recipe is Turkish style in preparation, but using basmati rice in place of the more commonly used short grain baldo rice. To get it exactly like most places in Turkey, you need to use baldo rice and a lot more fats. Otherwise the method is much the same. You’ll need a…
