On the X-ray identification of amblygonite and montebrasite

Abstract

Summary: Previous investigations have been confined to individual members or to small compositional ranges of the amblygonite-montebrasite series. The present study is a survey based on twenty-two specimens in the range Amb₁₄Mon₈₆ to Amb₉₂Mon₈ (1·8–11·8 % fluorine), and indicates that the fluorine content may be related both qualitatively and quantitatively to differences in the X-ray powder patterns. Fully indexed powder data to d = 1·68 Å and derived cell parameters are given for four members of the series. There is no evidence of a break in the continuity of the series. The first British occurrence of both amblygonite and montebrasite is reported from a pegmatite vein in aplite at Meldon, Okehampton, Devonshire.