Serendibite is an extremely rare silicate mineral that was first discovered in 1902 in Sri Lanka by Dunil Palitha Gunasekera and named after Serendib, the old Arabic name for Sri Lanka.
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Serendibite A relatively sharp, vitreous black crystal of serendibite from Le Oo, in
Mogok Township , measures: 16 x 13 x 8 mm
Category Inosilicates Formula (Ca,Na)2 (Mg,Fe2+ )3 (Al,Fe3+ )3 [O2 |(Si,Al,B)6 O18 ] IMA symbol Ser[ 1] Strunz classification 9.DH.40 Dana classification 69.2.1a.6 Crystal system Triclinic Crystal class Pinacoidal (1 ) (same H-M symbol ) Space group P 1 Color pale yellow, blue-green, greyish blue, black Twinning Polysynthetic on {0–11} is common Cleavage None observed Fracture Uncommon, conchoidal Mohs scale hardness6.5 – 7 Luster Vitreous Streak White Diaphaneity Transparent, Translucent,Opaque Specific gravity 3.42 – 3.52 (measured) 3.47 (calculated) Optical properties Biaxial (+) Refractive index 1.701 – 1.706 Pleochroism Visible,strong, color: green, blue, yellow, light blue, bluegreen, light yellow 2V angle Measured: 80° Dispersion strong References [ 2] [ 3]
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The mineral is found in skarns associated with boron metasomatism of carbonate rocks where intruded by granite . Minerals occurring with serendibite include diopside , spinel , phlogopite , scapolite , calcite , tremolite , apatite , grandidierite , sinhalite , hyalophane , uvite , pargasite , clinozoisite , forsterite , warwickite and graphite .[ 3]
Crystal from Mogok, Myanmar , size: 1 cm x 0.7 cm x 0.7 cm
