Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition NaAlSi2O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4, and is found in a wide range of colors, most often shades of green or white. It forms only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature. Jadeite is the principal mineral making up the most valuable form of jade, a precious stone particularly prized in China, and most gem-quality jadeite jade comes from northern Myanmar.
Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition NaAlSi2O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4, and is found in a wide range of colors, most often shades of green or white. It forms only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature. Jadeite is the principal mineral making up the most valuable form of jade, a precious stone particularly prized in China, and most gem-quality jadeite jade comes from northern Myanmar.
Facts
Chemical Formula Chemical Formula Hardness (Mohs)The Wikipedia article gives about 6.5 to 7.0 on the Mohs scale; 6.75, the midpoint, is used here. Hardness (Mohs)The Wikipedia article gives about 6.5 to 7.0 on the Mohs scale; 6.75, the midpoint, is used here. Classification
Strunz Class Strunz Class Crystal System Crystal System Connections
Caused By
Source EBSCO Research Starters: Metamorphic processes, rocks, and mineral deposits
Additional Source Jadeite (Wikipedia)Lead
Source Jadeite (Wikipedia)
Crystallizes In System
In Discipline
In the Other Atlases
Mineral Species Of
Also in Divinity Atlas: of this mineral species.
Sources
1. Jadeite (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationJadeite, lead paragraph
Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition NaAlSi2O6.
Jadeite, article text
It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4.
View the Source 2. minerals.net: Jadeite
minerals.netColor field
Light to dark green, apple-green, emerald-green, gray, white, and cream-yellow. Often mottled white and light green. Occasionally also yellow, pink, purple, brown, and black; sometimes multicolored or banded.
Luster field
Waxy, greasy; pearly on cleavage surface s. Polished material may be vitreous.
View the Source Jadeite (Wikipedia)
Caused By: Subduction, Lead
Jadeite is formed only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature.
Caused By: Metamorphism, Lead
Jadeite is formed only in the subduction zones of continental margins, where rock undergoes metamorphism at high pressure but relatively low temperature.
View the SourceEBSCO Research Starters: Metamorphic processes, rocks, and mineral deposits
EBSCO Research StartersCaused By: Metamorphism, Metamorphic mineral depositsQuote, Caused By: Metamorphism, Metamorphic mineral deposits
The pure form of the mineral jadeite (NaAlSi 2 O 6) is the best quality of all materials called jade. Jade has been a valued material for sculpture and other art-and-craft applications for more than twenty-five centuries. It forms during burial metamorphism of alkali-rich igneous rocks that have been subjected to very high pressures and low temperatures.
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