# Sylvite

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{{Short description|Potassium chloride mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name        = Sylvite
| category    = [Halide mineral](/source/Halide_mineral)
| boxwidth    =
| boxbgcolor  =
| image       = Mineral Silvina GDFL105.jpg
| imagesize   = 250px
| caption     = 
| formula     = KCl
| IMAsymbol   = Syl<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}</ref>
| molweight   = 74.55 g/mol
| strunz      = 3.AA.20
| system      = [Isometric](/source/Cubic_(crystal_system))
| class       = Hexoctahedral (m{{overline|3}}m) <br/>[H-M symbol](/source/H-M_symbol): (4/m {{overline|3}} 2/m)
| symmetry    = ''F''m3m
| unit cell   = a = 6.2931&nbsp;Å; Z&nbsp;=&nbsp;4
| color       = Colorless to white, pale gray, pale blue; may be yellowish red
to red due to hematite inclusions
| habit       = As cubes and octahedra; columnar, in crusts, coarse granular, massive
| twinning    =
| cleavage    = Perfect	on [100], [010], [001]
| fracture    = Uneven
| tenacity    = Brittle to ductile
| mohs        = 2
| luster      = Vitreous
| polish      =
| refractive  = 1.4903
| opticalprop = Isotropic
| birefringence =
| dispersion  =
| pleochroism = Visible in colored crystals
| fluorescence= None
| absorption  =
| streak      = White
| gravity     = 1.993
| density     =
| melt        =
| fusibility  =
| diagnostic  =
| solubility  = Soluble in water
| diaphaneity = Transparent to translucent
| other       = Salty to bitter taste
| references  =<ref name=Mindat>[http://www.mindat.org/show.php?id=3850&ld=1&pho= Sylvite: Sylvite mineral information and data<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://webmineral.com/data/Sylvite.shtml Sylvite Mineral Data<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name=HBM>[http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/sylvite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy]</ref>
}}

'''Sylvite''', or '''sylvine''', is [potassium chloride](/source/potassium_chloride) (KCl) in natural [mineral](/source/mineral) form. It forms crystals in the [isometric](/source/Cubic_(crystal_system)) system very similar to normal rock salt, [halite](/source/halite) ([Na](/source/sodium)Cl). The two are, in fact, [isomorphous](/source/Isomorphism_(crystallography)).<ref>Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr. 1993. ''Manual of Mineralogy after [J.D. Dana](/source/James_Dwight_Dana), 21st edition''. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.</ref> Sylvite is colorless to white with shades of yellow and red due to inclusions. It has a [Mohs hardness](/source/Mohs_hardness) of 2.5 and a [specific gravity](/source/specific_gravity) of 1.99. It has a refractive index of 1.4903.<ref>Deer, W.A., R.A. Howie, and J. Zussman. 1992. ''An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals'' 2nd ed. New York: Prentice Hall.</ref> Sylvite has a salty taste with a distinct bitterness.

Sylvite is one of the last [evaporite](/source/evaporite) minerals to precipitate out of solution. As such, it is found only in very dry saline areas. Its principal use is as a potassium fertilizer.
thumb|left|180px|Sylvite
[[Image:Sylvin (aka).jpg|thumb|left|180px|Sylvite from [Germany](/source/Germany)]]

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](/source/Saskatchewan), Canada. The vast deposits in Saskatchewan were formed by the evaporation of a [Devonian](/source/Devonian) seaway. Sylvite is the official mineral of Saskatchewan.

Sylvite was first described in 1832 at [Mount Vesuvius](/source/Mount_Vesuvius) near [Napoli](/source/Naples) in [Italy](/source/Italy) and named after historical KCl designations ''sal degistivum Sylvii'' and ''sal febrifugum Sylvii'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watts |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-bkUHqUZ5AC&pg=PA147 |title=A Dictionary of Chemistry and the Allied Branches of Other Sciences |date=1883 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company |language=en}}</ref> which are named after the [Dutch](/source/Netherlands) physician and chemist [François Sylvius de le Boe](/source/Franciscus_Sylvius) (1614–1672).<ref name=Mindat/>

Sylvite, along with quartz, [fluorite](/source/fluorite) and halite, is used for [spectroscopic](/source/Spectroscopy) prisms and lenses.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Motz, Lloyd|title=Spectroscopy|journal=Microsoft Encarta 2009|issue=2009|volume=S|page =1841}}</ref>
{{clear|left}}

==See also==
*{{annotated link|Sylvinite}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110517165514/http://www.ir.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=3563,3541,3538,3385,2936,Documents Mineral Resources of Saskatchewan]
{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sylvite}}
{{commons category|Sylvite}}

Category:Potassium minerals
Category:Chloride minerals
Category:Cubic minerals
Category:Minerals in space group 225
Category:Evaporite
Category:Potash
Category:Rocksalt group

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sylvite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.