Sylvite, or sylvine, is
potassium chloride
Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a sa ...
(KCl) in natural
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ...
form. It forms crystals in the
isometric
The term ''isometric'' comes from the Greek for "having equal measurement".
isometric may mean:
* Cubic crystal system, also called isometric crystal system
* Isometre, a rhythmic technique in music.
* "Isometric (Intro)", a song by Madeon from ...
system very similar to normal rock salt,
halite
Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, ...
(
NaCl). The two are, in fact,
isomorphous. Sylvite is colorless to white with shades of yellow and red due to inclusions. It has a
Mohs hardness of 2.5 and a
specific gravity of 1.99. It has a refractive index of 1.4903. Sylvite has a salty taste with a distinct bitterness.
Sylvite is one of the last
evaporite
An evaporite () is a water- soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as oce ...
minerals to precipitate out of solution. As such, it is only found in very dry saline areas. Its principal use is as a potassium fertilizer.
Sylvite is found in many evaporite deposits worldwide. Massive bedded deposits occur in New Mexico and western Texas, and in Utah in the US, but the largest world source is in Saskatchewan, Canada. The vast deposits in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
, Canada were formed by the evaporation of a
Devonian seaway. Sylvite is the official mineral of Saskatchewan.
Sylvite was first described in 1832 at
Mount Vesuvius near
Napoli in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and named for the
Dutch chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...
,
François Sylvius de le Boe (1614–1672).
[
Sylvite, along with quartz, fluorite and halite, is used for spectroscopic prisms and lenses.]
See also
* Sylvinite
References
External links
Mineral Resources of Saskatchewan
{{commons category, Sylvite
Potassium minerals
Halide minerals
Cubic minerals
Minerals in space group 225
Evaporite
Potash
Rocksalt group