Saussurite
Saussuriteis amineralaggregate which is formed as ahydrothermal alterationproduct ofplagioclasefeldspar.It appears very similar tozoisitewith a green or grayish-green color, it has been used as a substitute or simulant forjade.
Saussurite is not however recognized as a true mineral because it is a microscopic mixture of several other minerals, zoisite, epidote, sericite, albite or other sodium rich feldspar along with possibly scapolite. The use of microscopic refractive index data and X-ray diffraction patterns are needed to distinguish some saussurite simulants from true jade.
It was named after the Swiss explorer Horace Benedict de Saussure, who discovered it on the slopes of Mont Blanc.
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Saussurite
Source : alexstrekeisen.it
Saussurite is a mineral aggregate which is formed as a hydrothermal alteration product of plagioclase feldspar.It was named after the Swiss explorer Horace Benedict de Saussure, who discovered it on the slopes of Mont Blanc. It’s a common alteration product of plagioclase and its require addition of water, that change An-component to epidote (Zoisite or Clinozoisite), ancd the residual plagioclase is left as albite. Saussurite is formed under the same condition that characterize the greenschist or other low-P facies. Saussurite is not however recognized as a true mineral because it is a microscopic mixture of several other minerals, zoisite, epidote, sericite, albite.
Light green saussurite and dark green alered olivina. Allalin Glacier, Zermatt-Saas, Svizzera. From e-rocks