Eudialyte, whose name derives from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 phrase Εὖ διάλυτος eu dialytos

Dialysis

In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...

, meaning "well decomposable", is a somewhat rare, red silicate

Silicate

A silicate is a compound containing a silicon bearing anion. The great majority of silicates are oxides, but hexafluorosilicate and other anions are also included. This article focuses mainly on the Si-O anions. Silicates comprise the majority of the earth's crust, as well as the other...

 mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

, which forms in alkaline igneous rocks, such as nepheline

Nepheline

Nepheline, also called nephelite , is a feldspathoid: a silica-undersaturated aluminosilicate, Na3KAl4Si4O16, that occurs in intrusive and volcanic rocks with low silica, and in their associated pegmatites...

 syenite

Syenite

Syenite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock of the same general composition as granite but with the quartz either absent or present in relatively small amounts Syenite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock of the same general composition as granite but with the quartz either absent or...

s. Its name alludes to its ready solubility in acid.

Eudialyte was first described in 1819 for an occurrence in nepheline syenite

Nepheline syenite

Nephelene syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock that consists largely of nepheline and alkali feldspar. The rocks are mostly pale colored, grey or pink, and in general appearance they are not unlike granites, but dark green varieties are also known...

 of the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex

Ilimaussaq intrusive complex

The Ilimaussaq intrusive complex is a large alkalic layered intrusion located on the southwest coast of Greenland. It is Mesoproterozoic in age. It is the type locality of agpaitic nepheline syenite and hosts a variety of unusual rock types....

 of southwest Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

.

Uses of eudialyte

Eudialyte is used as a minor ore of zirconium

Zirconium

Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon. Its atomic mass is 91.224. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium...

. Another use of eudialyte is as a minor gemstone

Gemstone

A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...

, but this use is limited by its rarity, which is compounded by its poor crystal habit. These factors make eudialyte of primary interest as a collector's mineral.

Associated minerals

Eudialyte is found associated with other alkalic igneous minerals, in addition to the some minerals common to most igneous material in general. These minerals include:

• nepheline
  Nepheline
  Nepheline, also called nephelite , is a feldspathoid: a silica-undersaturated aluminosilicate, Na3KAl4Si4O16, that occurs in intrusive and volcanic rocks with low silica, and in their associated pegmatites...
  
  , ₄
• aegirine
  Aegirine
  Aegirine is a member of the clinopyroxene group of inosilicates. Aegirine is the sodium endmember of the aegirine-augite series. Aegirine has the chemical formula NaFeSi2O6 in which the iron is present as Fe3+. In the aegirine-augite series the sodium is variably replaced by calcium with iron and...
  
  , ₂₆
• natrolite
  Natrolite
  Natrolite is a tectosilicate mineral species belonging to the zeolite group. It is a hydrated sodium and aluminium silicate with the formula . The type locality is Hohentwiel, Hegau, Germany....
  
  , ₂₂₃₁₀
• albite
  Albite
  Albite is a plagioclase feldspar mineral. It is the sodium endmember of the plagioclase solid solution series. As such it represents a plagioclase with less than 10% anorthite content. The pure albite endmember has the formula NaAlSi3O8. It is a tectosilicate. Its color is usually pure white, hence...
  
  , ₃₈

Alternative names

Alternative names of eudialyte include: almandine spar and eudalite. Eucolite is the name of an altered form.

Eudialyte group

Microchemical (by electron microprobe) and structural analyzes of different eudialyte (and related) samples revealed presence of many new eudialyte-like minerals. These minerals are structurally and chemically related and joined into eudialyte group. The group includes Zr-,OH-, Cl-, F-, CO₃- and possibly also SO₄-bearing silicates of Na, K, H₃O, Ca, Sr, REEs, Mn, Fe, Nb and W. Electron vacancies can be present in their structure, too.