Carletonite is a rare phyllosilicate mineral with formula KNa4Ca4(CO3)4Si8O18(F,OH)·(H2O). Its tetragonal crystals are a translucent blue, white, colorless or pink with a vitreous to dull lustre. It has a density of 2.45 and a hardness of 4–4.5.
It was discovered by G.Y Chao and named for the school he attended, Carleton University of Ottawa.[6] It was first described in 1969 for an occurrence at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. The type locality at Mont Saint–Hilaire is the only reported occurrence.[3][4]
It occurs in hornfels and siliceous marble xenoliths within and adjacent to a nepheline syenite intrusion. It occurs in association with quartz, narsarsukite, calcite, fluorite, ancylite, molybdenite, leucosphenite, lorenzenite, galena, albite, pectolite, apophyllite, leifite, microcline and arfvedsonite.[3]
References
- ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). “IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols”. Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM…85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
- ^ Mineralienatlas
- ^ a b c Handbook of Mineralogy
- ^ a b Mindat.org
- ^ Webmineral data
- ^ “Carletonite is a rare mineral found only in Mt Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada”. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2018-11-05.