Foitite is a mineral in the
tourmaline group,
it is a vacancy-dominant member of the group.
Foitite is in the 'vacancy' group, due to the absence of atoms in the X site.
According to the
Czech Geological Society
Czech Geological Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. It provides access to elements that are essential to the professional growth of earth scientists at all levels of expertise and from all sectors: ...
, foitite is rare. However foitite is quite common among low-temperature tourmalines
and it might be more common than previously thought.
The color of the mineral is dark indigo with purple tints to bluish-black.
Name
The mineral was named in 1993 by D. J. MacDonald, Frank C. Hawthorne, and Joel D.Grice after Franklin F. Foit, Jr.
Chemistry
It lacks
alkalis
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a so ...
like
sodium.
Occurrence
It occurs in
quartz veins and possibly occurs in granite
pegmatites.
Foitite has also been reported in
Marquette County, Michigan.
Its
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
is
California.
It has been reported in
Wales and it is predicted that a more widespread distribution of the mineral in Wales will be shown.
References
{{reflist
Tourmalines