Description
The mineral tugtupite is a chlorine-containing sodium-aluminum-beryllium silicate with the chemical formula Na4AlBe(Si4O12)Cl. This tectosilicate belongs to the feldspathoids. Transparent to translucent white, pink, green, or blue tugtupite has a vitreous to oily luster, a white streak color, and imperfect cleavage along the crystal plane [111]. The crystal system is tetragonal. Tugtupite has an average density of 2.36, a hardness of 4, and is not radioactive. The name of the mineral tugtupite is derived from the place where it was first described: Tugtup agatakorfia in Greenland, and also means "reindeer blood" in Inuit. The mineral tugtupite forms in silica-poor, alkali-rich igneous rocks. The type locality is Tugtup agatakorfia, Tunugdliarfik, Greenland.
