PHLOGOPITE
- Phlogopite (Potassium magnesium aluminum silicate hydroxide) is a greenish- or
reddish-brown member of the mica family of phyllosilicates. It is also known as
magnesium mica.
- Phlogopite is a rarer member of the mica group and is not well known even by mineral
collectors. Phlogopite, like other micas, has a layered structure of magnesium
aluminum silicate sheets weakly bonded together by layers of potassium ions. These
potassium ion layers cause the perfect cleavage in one direction that produces thin
sheets or flakes . Hardness is 2.5 - 3. Specific Gravity is approximately 2.9 Phlogopite
comes from the Kola Pennisula area of Russia, but notable occurences include also
Ontario and Quebec.
