Anandite, a New Barium Iron Silicate from Wilagedera, North Western Province, Ceylon

D. B. Pattiaratchi, Esko Saari and Th. G. Sahama
Geological Survey Department, Ceylon
University of Helsinki, Finland

Summary: Anandite is a new barium iron silicate found in the magnetite ore zone of the Wilagedera iron ore body, in the North Western Province of Ceylon. The mineral is named after the late Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, the first director of the Mineral Survey of Ceylon.

Anandite is monoclinic, with a 5·412, b 9·434, c 19·953 Å, β 94° 52′, space group C2/c. D 3·94, hardness 3–4. Optically positive, bβ, γa 12°, β 1·855, γ > 1·88. Pleochroism: β green, γ brown. Chemical composition corresponds to the simplified formula (Ba,K) (Fe,Mg)a (Si,Al,Fe)4O10 (O,OH)2 with Z = 2. The data available indicate that the mineral has the trioctahedral structure of the brittle micas.

Mineralogical Magazine; March 1967 v. 36; no. 277; p. 1-4; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1967.036.277.01
© 1967, The Mineralogical Society
Mineralogical Society (www.minersoc.org)