Information about Phillipsite

Phillipsite is a series of related minerals in the Zeolite group, including

• Harmotome – Ba2(Si12Al4)O32 · 12H2O
• Phillipsite-Ca – Ca3(Si10Al6)O32 · 12H2O
• Phillipsite-K – (K,Na,Ca0.5,Ba0.5)4-7[Al4-7Si12-9O32] . 12H2O
• Phillipsite-Na – (Na,K,Ca0.5,Ba0.5)4-7[Al4-7Si12-9O32] · 12H2O

Unanalysed members of this group will generally just be referred to as ‘Phillipsite’.

Uses and History

Phillipsite is quite popular amongst collectors, but some zeolite minerals have significant industrial uses including forms of water purification.

Phillipsite was identified in 1825 by Armand Levy, and named after the English mineralogist William Phillips. In some French collections, it may be described as ‘Christianite’, a name given to it in 1847 by A. Des Cloizeaux after Christian VIII of Denmark.

The type locality of Phillipsite is Acireale, Etna Volcanic Complex, Catania Province, Sicily, Italy.

Mineralogy

Hazards and Warnings

Mineral collectors should wash their hands after handling specimens, to avoid any exposure to potential toxins.

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis.

When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.

Translations

Further Reading / External Links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillipsite
• https://www.mindat.org/min-3192.html