Na-dominant (at the M2 site) eudialyte analogue: crystal structure and indicatory significance

Minerals of the eudialyte group from ultra-agpaitic associations are often characterized by high contents (up to the dominance) of sodium at the M2 site, which is populated with iron in eudialyte. The features of blocky isomorphism with the replacement of IVFe2+ by IVNa and VNa at the M2 micro-region are discussed. Using the methods of electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy, a potentially new mineral, M2Na-dominant analogue of eudialyte from the Ilimaussaq alkaline massif (Greenland), was investigated. Its crystal structure was refined to R = 5.6 % in the anisotropic approximation of atomic displacements using 1095 independent reflections with F > 3(F). The unit-cell parameters are: a = 14.208(1), c = 30.438(1) Å, V = 5321(1) Å3; the space group is R-3m. The idealized formula of the mineral is (Z = 3): (Na,H3O)15Ca6Zr3[Na2Fe][Si26O72](OH)2Cl∙2H2O.