Summary: Unit-cell dimensions and refractive indices of lithium-iron micas decrease with decreasing iron and increasing lithium. Indices β and γ as well as parameters a and b can be used to estimate the composition of lithium-iron micas but basal spacing and 2Vα are poor indicators of composition.
The chemical composition of natural lithium-iron micas from the Krušné hory and the Erzgebirge along the Czechoslovak—German border was discussed in Part A of this study (Rieder et al., 1970). It was concluded that the composition and crystallography of these micas fit best the series siderophyllite-polylithionite. The compositions were expressed by the ratio A′ = LR/(LR+‘Fe’). In this expression, LR is the subscript value of Li or octahedral R3+ (whichever is the smaller) in the crystallochemical formula, ‘Fe’ is the sum of the values in the formula of Fe2+ and Mn2+. A′ therefore defines the position of a particular mica on the siderophyllite-polylithionite join. This paper deals with the correlation between composition, cell dimensions, and refractive indices.
Mineralogical Magazine; June 1971 v. 38; no. 294; p. 190-196; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1971.038.294.08
© 1971, The Mineralogical Society
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