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Lazurite

Silicate Minerals

Lazurite, formerly called azure spar, is a tectosilicate mineral with sulfate, sulfur and chloride, a feldspathoid and a member of the sodalite group. It crystallizes in the isometric system, although well-formed crystals are rare, and it is usually massive and forms the bulk of the gemstone lapis lazuli. It is deep blue to greenish blue, the color being due to the presence of S-3 anions, and has a Mohs hardness of 5.0 to 5.5. It is a product of contact metamorphism of limestone and is typically associated with calcite, pyrite and diopside. In this atlas it is the principal mineral that the gemstone lapis lazuli records.

Facts
Kind
Mineral 1
Chemical Formula
(Na,Ca)8[(S,Cl,SO4,OH)2(Al6Si6O24)] 1
Hardness (Mohs)
5.25 1
The Wikipedia article gives a Mohs hardness of 5.0 to 5.5; 5.25, the midpoint, is used here.
Classification
Crystal System
Cubic (Isometric) 1
Classification
Silicate Mineral 1
Use
Gemstone 1
Connections

Classified As

Entity-backed identity for the material classification this material already carries as an enum fact, pointing at the class subcategory of the same name. The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Crystallizes In System

Entity-backed identity for the crystal system this mineral already carries as an enum fact, phase 3 bucket conversion (docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md, w-bucketconv-divmore2-0929). The original fact stays on the entry unchanged.

In Discipline

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Lazurite (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lazurite, lead paragraph
    is a tectosilicate mineral with sulfate, sulfur and chloride
  • Lazurite, article text
    It has a Mohs hardness of 5.0 to 5.5
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