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Article: Euhedral sinhalite crystals from Sri Lanka.
- Article from:
- The Mineralogical Record
- Article date:
- March 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 The Mineralogical, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Euhedral sinhalite crystals, reported here from Sri Lanka for the first time, have yielded morphological data in agreement with that previously published for a crystal from Burma. Thirty-two faces were observed, representing 13 forms for one crystal, and 31 faces and 9 forms for the other. The pale brown color and weak pleochroism are attributed to ferric iron.
INTRODUCTION
Sinhalite, MgAlB[O.sub.4], is among the rarest of the 30 or so gem minerals found in the alluvial gem deposits of Sri Lanka. It was first recognized and described as a new mineral species based on faceted gemstones which were long thought to be brown forsterite (Claringbull and Hey, 1952). ...