Database of luminescent minerals 

AGRELLITE

Chemical formula: NaCa₂Si₄O₁₀F

Family: Silicates

Status: IMA-A

Crystal system : Triclinic

Display mineral: OUI

Luminescence:

Daylight picture

AGRELLITE, Kipawa River, Quebec, Canada;

Photo and Copyright: James Hamblen
Site of the author
Used with permission of the author

Shortwave (254nm) picture

AGRELLITE, Kipawa River, Quebec, Canada;
OC (254 nm).
Photo and Copyright: James Hamblen
Site of the author
Used with permission of the author

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Phosphorescence (in the common sense of the term) observable with the naked eye:

Comments:

Sometimes associated with : hyalite (fluo green SW), VLASOVITE (fluo yellow-orange SW), feldspath (fluo red SW), red eudyalite and brown mosandrite;

Some SW 4 color specimens from the Darai-Pioz Glacier, Tajikistan. have white fluorescing Baratovite, Pink fluorescing Agrellite, Magenta fluorescing Microcline, and an unknown fluorescing Green (hyalite?).

Activator(s) and spectrum:

Activator(s): Mn²⁺ , Fe³⁺,  Eu²⁺,  Ce³⁺,  Sm³⁺,  Dy³⁺,  Nd³⁺,  Gd³⁺,  

Peaks in the spectrum (nm):

Mn²⁺ replacing Ca²⁺: Large band peaking at 580nm
Eu²⁺: 410nm
Sm³⁺: 560, 597, 602, 640nm
Dy³⁺: 475, 485, 580nm
Fe³⁺ replacing Si⁴⁺: 740nm
Nd³⁺(?): 955nm
Ref. sample: (555), (561), 566, (593), (600), 604, (612), (639), 646, 661, 698 and 706 nm

Agrellite, Canada. Excitation: laser 405nm. Col. G. Barmarin; Spectre: G. Barmarin

Spectrum Galery:

  
  Go to the galery (8 spectra)

Comments on spectrum and activators:

A brief but distinctive orange flash is seen before the magenta luminescence (typical of Mn activator?).
RE elements (RRE2+ and RRE3+) replacing Ca2+ are suspected as activators. Also Mn and Fe.
Fluorescence: pink LW after Robbins and other authors, clearly visible with pointer-laser @405nm.
As with other minerals activated by RRE, the shape of the spectrum is strongly influenced by the resolution of the spectrometer because RRE have a lot of very narrow peaks very close from each other. If the resolution of the spectrometer is not sufficient, the pikes are agglomerated in larger entities.

There is sometime a green fluorescent mineral accompagning agrellite. It is sometime reported as thorium activated calcite (???) that will glow green sw and mw whitish green lw and will phos under all 3 waves. Sometime thorite coating are invoqued to explain the green fluorescence in specimens from Kipawa.

Albite fluorescing red SW is also often present.

The emission centers observed in agrellite samples vary depending on their geographical origin. Here is a summary of the findings:

Kipawa River Samples:

• Ce³⁺ (Cerium)
• Dy³⁺ (Dysprosium)
• Sm³⁺ (Samarium)

Yakutia Samples:

• Fe³⁺ (Iron)
• Mn²⁺ (Manganese)
• Eu²⁺ (Europium)
• Presumed Nd³⁺ (Neodymium)

Dara-i-Pioz Samples:

• Ce³⁺ (Cerium)
• Mn²⁺ (Manganese)

Additionally, recent spectroscopic investigations of agrellite samples from Dara-i-Pioz (Tajikistan) and Murun massif (Russia) have shown luminescence from Ce³⁺ and EPR spectra of Mn²⁺. However, it is noted that some expected emissions were not observed in certain samples. For instance, the luminescence of Mn²⁺ and Eu²⁺ was not observed in some specimens

Best localities for fluorescence (*):

• Mt Kipawa Complex, Kipawa River, Sheffield Lake, Villedieu Township, Québec, Canada;
• Darai-Pioz (Dara-i-Pioz) Glacier, Alai (Alayskiy) Range, Tien Shan Mts, Region of Republican Subordination, Tajikistan;
• Kedrovyi alkaline Massif, Murunskii Massif, Chara and Tokko Rivers Confluence, Aldan Shield, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia;
• Wausau Complex in Marathon County, Wisconsin, USA

(*)The data are not exhaustive and are limited to a few remarkable localities for fluorescence

Bibliographic reference for luminescence:

• The Henkel Glossary of Fluorescent Minerals, Dr. Gerhard Henkel, Published by the FMS, 1989 ,
• Fluorescence: Gems and Minerals Under Ultraviolet Light, Manuel Robbins, 1994, Geoscience Press, ISBN 0-945005-13-X ,
• The World of Fluorescent Minerals, Stuart Schneider, Schiffer Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-7643-2544-2 ,
• Luminescence Spectroscopy of Minerals and Materials, M. Gaft, R. Reisfeld, G. Panczer, Springer Editor, ISBN: 10 3-540-21918-8 ,
• Luminescent Spectra of Minerals, Boris S. Gorobets and Alexandre A. Rogojine, Moscow, 2002 ,
• Luminescenza nel regno minerale, Guido Mazzoleni, fotografia Roberto Appiani, Libri Sandit, 2010, ISBN 978-88-95990-63-7 ,

Reference for luminescence on the Internet:

Mineralogical reference on the Internet:

  http://www.mindat.org/show.php?name=Agrellite

  http://webmineral.com/data/Agrellite.shtml

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