Yuksporite is a rare inosilicate mineral with double width, unbranched chains, and the complicated chemical formula K4(Ca,Na)14Sr2Mn(Ti,Nb)4(O,OH)4(Si6O17)2(Si2O7)3(H2O,OH)3. It contains the relatively rare elements strontium, titanium and niobium, as well as the commoner metallic elements potassium, calcium, sodium and manganese. As with all silicates, it contains groups of linked silicon and oxygen atoms, as well as some associated water molecules. Yuksporite is a member of the umbite group that has just two known members, umbite, K2ZrSi3O9.H2O, and yuksporite. It was first reported in 1922, from nepheline syenite occurrences in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, and named by Alexander Fersman for the locality, near Mount Yukspor.
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General Info About Yuksporite
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Characteristics of Yuksporite
Yuksporite is a biaxial mineral, but most authors do not specify whether it is (+) or (-); the Handbook of Mineralogy gives it as (+). All agree, however, that the refractive indices are Nx = 1.644 and Nz = 1.660 (with Ny unspecified), which are larger than those for quartz, but similar to those for tourmaline. Yuksporite shows pleochroism, with X pale rose-yellow, and Y, Z rose-yellow. It has a hardness of 4 ⁄2 to 5, between fluorite and apatite, and specific gravity 3.05, similar to fluorite. It exhibits barely detectable radioactivity.
Appearance of Yuksporite
The mineral is brownish pink, rose pink or yellowish in color, with a silky to vitreous luster and a nearly white streak. It occurs in semi-transparent fibrous, scaly or lamellar aggregates up to 10 cm across.
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