Buddingtonite Explained
| Buddingtonite |
| Category: | Silicate mineral |
| Formula: | NH4AlSi3O8 |
| Imasymbol: | Bud[1] |
| Strunz: | 9.FA.30 |
| System: | Monoclinic |
| Class: | Prismatic (2)
or sphenoidal (2/m) |
| Symmetry: | C2/m (no. 12) |
| Unit Cell: | a = 8.57 Å, b = 13.03 Å,
c = 7.18 Å; β = 112.73°; Z = 4 |
| Color: | Colorless |
| Habit: | Compact masses replacing plagioclase as pseudomorphs |
| Cleavage: | Good on, distinct on |
| Tenacity: | Brittle |
| Mohs: | 5.5 |
| Luster: | Vitreous |
| Streak: | Light grey to yellow (impure specimens) |
| Diaphaneity: | Transparent to translucent |
| Gravity: | 2.32 |
| Opticalprop: | Biaxial (+) |
| Refractive: | nα = 1.530 nβ = 1.531 nγ = 1.534 |
| Birefringence: | δ = 0.004 |
| 2V: | Calculated: 60° |
| References: | [2] [3] [4] |
Buddingtonite is an ammonium feldspar with formula: NH4AlSi3O8 (note: some sources add 0.5H2O to the formula). It forms by hydrothermal alteration of primary feldspar minerals. It is an indicator of possible gold and silver deposits, as they can become concentrated by hydrothermal processes. It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system and is colorless to white with a vitreous luster. Its structure is analogous to that of high sanidine (KAlSi3O8). Buddingtonite has a hardness of 5.5 and a specific gravity of 2.32.
Buddingtonite was discovered in 1964 at the Sulfur Bank mine near Clear Lake in Lake County, California.[5] Clear Lake is at the north end of The Geysers geothermal area. It also occurs in the Tonopah, Nevada[6] area and in hydrothermal areas in New Zealand[7] and Japan. It has also been reported from the sedimentary Phosphoria Formation in Idaho,[8] South Dakota,[9] Wyoming, and Montana. It occurs in the oil shale deposit, near Proserpine, Queensland, Australia.[10]
It was named for Arthur Francis Buddington (1890–1980), a petrologist at Princeton University.
Other reading
- ((Voncken JHL)), ((van Roermund HLM)), ((van der Eerden AMJ)), ((Jansen JBH)), Erd RC . Holotype buddingtonite, an ammonium feldspar without zeolitic H2O . American Mineralogist . 78 . 1993 . 204–209 . 13 June 2022.
- ((Voncken JHL)), ((Konings RJM)), ((Jansen JBH)), Woensdregt CF . Hydrothermally grown buddingtonite, an anhydrous ammonium feldspar (NH4AlSi3O8) . Physics and Chemistry of Minerals . 15 . 4 . 1988 . 323–328 . 10.1007/BF00311036 . 1988PCM....15..323V . 93352487 .
Notes and References
- Warr. L.N.. 2021. IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine. 85. 3. 291–320. 10.1180/mgm.2021.43. 2021MinM...85..291W. 235729616. free.
- Web site: Anthony . John W. . Bideaux . Richard A. . Bladh . Kenneth W. . Nichols . Monte C. . Buddingtonite . Handbook of Mineralogy . Mineral Data Publishing . 14 March 2022 . 2005.
- http://webmineral.com/data/Buddingtonite.shtml Webmineral data
- Mookherjee . M. . Redfern . S. A. T. . Swainson . I. . Harlov . D. E. . Low-temperature behaviour of ammonium ion in buddingtonite [N(D/H)4AlSi3O8] from neutron powder diffraction . Physics and Chemistry of Minerals . December 2004 . 31 . 9 . 643–649 . 10.1007/s00269-004-0425-8. 2004PCM....31..643M . 2027.42/46909 . 47007808 . free .
- Erd RC, White DE, Fahey JJ, Lee DE . Buddingtonite, an ammonium feldspar with zeolitic water . American Mineralogist . 49 . 7–8 . 1964 . 831–50.
- Felzer B, Hauff P, ((Goetz AFH)) . Quantitative reflectance spectroscopy of buddingtonite from the Cuprite mining district, Nevada . Journal of Geophysical Research . 99 . B2 . 1994 . 2887–95 . 10.1029/93JB02975. 1994JGR....99.2887F .
- Yang K, ((Browne PRL)), Huntington JF, Walshe JL . Characterizing the hydrothermal alteration of the Broadlands-Ohaaki geothermal system, New Zealand, using short-wave infrared spectroscopy . Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research . 106 . 2001 . 1–2 . 53–65 . 10.1016/S0377-0273(00)00264-X. 2001JVGR..106...53Y .
- Gulbrandsen RA . Buddingtonite, ammonium feldspar, in the Phosphoria Formation, southeastern Idaho . USGS Journal of Research . 2 . 6 . 1974 . 693–7.
- Solomon GC, Rossman GR. NH4+ in pegmatitic feldspars from the southern Black Hills, South Dakota. American Mineralogist . 73 . 1988 . 818–21.
- Loughan FC, Roberts FI, Linder AW . Buddingtonite (NH4-feldspar) in the Condor Oilshale Deposit, Queensland, Australia . Mineralogical Magazine . 47. 1983. 327–34 . 10.1180/minmag.1983.047.344.07 . 344. 1983MinM...47..327L. 140724010 .
