Albite

Albite is a white or grey feldspar mineral made of sodium, aluminium, silicon and oxygen (NaAlSi₃O₈). Its name comes from the Latin “albus”, meaning “white”. It is the sodium end of the feldspars, the most abundant mineral family in Earth’s crust, and forms one end of the plagioclase series. It occurs in light-coloured rocks such as granite and pegmatite and is one of the main raw materials of the glass and ceramics industries.

Glass: Albite is a flux that lowers the melting temperature of glass and supplies alumina and sodium. According to İMİB, feldspars are the basic raw material of the glass and ceramics sector. In the United States 47 percent of feldspar goes into glass (USGS). Ceramics: It is used as a flux in ceramic tiles, sanitaryware such as washbasins and toilets, and tableware; in the United States 53 percent of feldspar goes to ceramics and similar uses. For glass the feldspar is ground to about 20 mesh, for ceramics and fillers to 200 mesh or finer (USGS).

It has a hardness of 6–6.5 on the Mohs scale. It can scratch glass; a steel knife scratches it only with difficulty. Its specific gravity is 2.6–2.65 g/cm³.

Its best-known localities: Finnbo, Falun, Dalarna, Sweden; Çine–Milas area (Karadere belt), Aydın–Muğla, Türkiye; Baveno, Piedmont, Italy; Amelia, Virginia, USA; Virgem da Lapa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Known localities in Türkiye: Çine–Milas area (Karadere belt), Aydın–Muğla, Türkiye.

White, grey, sometimes bluish, greenish or reddish; vitreous, with a pearly lustre on cleavage faces. Mohs hardness is 6–6.5: it scratches glass and is scratched by a steel knife only with difficulty. Unlike quartz, it splits along distinct planes. Crystals and cleavage faces show fine parallel lines (polysynthetic twinning), which help to tell plagioclase from orthoclase. White orthoclase, microcline and other plagioclases look very much like albite. One kind of moonstone is made of intergrown layers of albite and orthoclase, so albite and moonstone can be confused. For a certain identification consult a gemmological or mineralogical laboratory.

On the “street to diamond” value ladder it sits on step 3 of nine: Building and industrial stone. In industry the value of albite depends on its sodium oxide (Na₂O) content and above all on the scarcity of titanium and iron minerals that spoil the colour on firing; low-titanium “extra” grade is worth more than ordinary “standard” grade. The quartz and mica content of the ore, its grain size, whether it needs upgrading by washing or flotation, the size of the deposit and the distance to glass and ceramics plants matter too. As an ornamental or collector’s stone albite crystals are seldom sought; crystal form, freedom from damage and the beauty of minerals such as tourmaline that grow with it count.

Crystal therapy practitioners and stone sellers claim that albite brings mental clarity and emotional balance and calms over-reactions to emotional events. The same sources say albite has a special connection to the “crown chakra” and raises spiritual awareness. Albite is an ordinary sodium-aluminium silicate belonging to the most common mineral family in Earth’s crust; the effects of “clarity”, “balance” and “chakra” attributed to it cannot be measured and have not been shown in a controlled study. Any sense of relaxation comes from taking a quiet moment while looking at and handling the stone. This section reports beliefs; it is not health information. There is no scientific evidence for these claims and no stone replaces medical treatment.

Albite is harmless to handle. Çine–Milas albite ore contains up to about 25 percent quartz; the dust from mines and grinding plants contains crystalline silica, should not be breathed for long and calls for a dust mask in dusty work.