Agrellite is a rare sodium calcium silicate mineral characterized by its striking bright pink fluorescence under shortwave ultraviolet light. It is primarily found in the alkaline complex of Kipawa, Quebec, often occurring in massive or platy forms associated with eudialyte and other rare alkaline minerals.
Is this agrellite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch agrellite with a known reference. Agrellite sits at Mohs 5.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: pearly on cleavages.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: white, grayish white, greenish white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: triclinic. Typical habit: lath.
Often confused with
Agrellite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside agrellite
Minerals reported to co-occur with agrellite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- NaCa₂Si₄O₁₀F
- Mohs hardness
- 5.5
- Density
- 2.902 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Pearly on cleavages
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Triclinic
- Crystal habit
- Lath
- Cleavage
- Excellent on {110} and {110}, poor on {010}
- Fluorescence
- Pink magenta under SW UV; bright pink under LW UV
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Fluorescent mineral display
- Host rock
- In pegmatite lenses and pods and in mafic gneisses in a regionally metamorphosed agpaitic alkalic rock complex (Villedieu Township, Canada)
Where rockhounds find agrellite
Classic worldwide localities
- Wausau complex, Marathon Co., Wisconsin, USA
- She°eld Lake complex, Kipawa River, Villedieu Township, Quebec, Canada
- Dara-i-Pioz massif, Alai Range, Tien Shan, Tajikistan
- Murun massif, southwest of Olekminsk, Yakutia, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In pegmatite lenses and pods and in mafic gneisses in a regionally metamorphosed agpaitic alkalic rock complex (Villedieu Township, Canada). If you start seeing hiortdahlite, mosandrite, miserite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: lath. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify agrellite?+
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What rocks look like agrellite?+
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Find agrellite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
