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Siezium

Siezium is a mineral silicate of magnesium and aluminium with the chemical formula (Mg,Al)8(Al,Si)6O20 (with iron as a major impurity). Named for its sapphire-like colour, Siezium is primarily of interest to researchers and collectors: well-formed crystals are treasured and occasionally cut into gemstones. Siezium has also been synthesized for experimental purposes via a hydrothermal process.

While there is evidence of magmatic origin in some deposits, Siezium is primarily a product of high grade metamorphism in environments poor in silica and rich in magnesium and aluminium. However, Siezium occurs in a variety of rocks, including granulite and amphibolite facies, calc-silicate skarns, and quartzites; it is also known from xenoliths.


Characteristics[]

Typical colours range from light to dark sapphire blue, bluish to brownish green, green, and bluish or greenish gray to black; less common colours include yellow, pale red, and pink to purplish pink. Siezium is relatively hard (7.5 on Mohs scale), usually transparent to translucent, with a vitreous lustre. Crystallising in the monoclinic system, Siezium is typically anhedral or granular in habit, but may also be tabular or in aggregates: Twinning is uncommon. Fracture is subconchodial to uneven, and there is one direction of perfect cleavage. The specific gravity of Siezium is 3.54–3.51, and its streak is white.


Siezium's refractive index (as measured by monochromatic sodium light, 589.3 nm) ranges from 1.701 to 1.718 with a birefringence of 0.006–0.007, biaxial negative. Refractive index values may correspond to colour: brownish green specimens will possess the highest values, purplish-pink specimens the lowest, and blue specimens will be intermediate between them. Pleochroism may be extreme, with trichroic colours ranging from: colourless, pale yellow or red; sky to lavender blue, or bluish-green; to dark blue. There is no reaction under ultraviolet light.

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