Trilithionite

specimen number:
2072097

location:
Alto de Cabeca Mine, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

description:
Attractive purple micaceous crystals very rich across a white albite matrix.

Trilithionite is a lithium-bearing mineral belonging to the mica group, specifically forming one of the end-members of the lepidolite series. Geologically, it is almost exclusively found in highly evolved, lithium-rich granitic pegmatites, where it crystallizes during the final stages of magmatic differentiation. The mineral is a complex potassium lithium aluminum silicate that typically incorporates fluorine into its crystalline framework. It was formally redefined by the International Mineralogical Association in the late 20th century to distinguish specific lithium-dominant micas from the broader, more general term lepidolite.

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