Image: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mindat.org/user-11235.html">Modris Baum</a> (Public domain)
monoclinicrarehalides
Cryolite
Na₃AlF₆
The image displays a cluster of white to colorless, somewhat translucent, blocky or granular cryolite crystals, possibly intergrown with other minerals.
Cryolite Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
2.5Crystal System
monoclinicLuster
vitreousStreak Color
whiteCleavage
poor/indistinctFracture
unevenSpecific Gravity
2.95Colors
white, colorlessTransparency
translucentType Locality
Demix-Varennes quarry, Saint-Amable sill, Varennes & St-Amable, Lajemmerais RCM, Montérégie, Québec, CanadaMineral Group
halidesUses
flux in aluminum smelting, enamel production, glass manufacturing, insecticidesAssociated Minerals
thomsenoliteRarity
rareGeological Context
Cryolite is a rare mineral found primarily in granite pegmatites and alkaline igneous rocks, forming from late-stage hydrothermal fluids. The most significant historical deposit was Ivittuut, Greenland, which is now exhausted.
