Tugtupite - Na4BeAlSi4O12Cl

Tugtupite is a member of the sodalite group and it occurs in high alkali and agpaitic intrusive igneous rocks. Tugtupite was discovered in 1957 by Professor H. Sørensen in the coastal cliffs of Tugtup agtakôrfia (Tuttup Attakoorfia) on the north coast of the Tunugdliarfilz fjord in the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex (South Greenland). The name is derived from the Greenlandic Inuit word for reindeer (tuttu), and means "reindeer blood".

The tugtupite from the type locality was described as white, but Sørensen (1960) mentions that the color changes to light pink when the mineral is exposed to strong sunshine. In 1962, pink tugtupite was found at Kangerdluarssulz, South Greenland; but it was only when a deeper red tugtupite was found at Kvanefjeld, South Greenland, in 1965 that tugtupite attained gemological interest. It has also been found at Mont-Saint-Hilaire in Quebec and in the Lovozero Massif of the Kola Peninsula in Russia.

Optical properties:
• Form: Massive, uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses.
• Relief: Moderate.
• Color: Colorless in Thin section.
• Pleochroism: Weak.
• Interference colors: Very Low.

For more information about the Ilímaussaq magmatic complex, see page: "Ilimaussaq"

tugtupite2019(1).jpg

Red tugtupite crystals from Kvanefjeld, Ilimaussaq Complex. Image from RRUFF

tugtupite2019(2).jpg

Red tugtupite crystals from Kvanefjeld, Ilimaussaq Complex. Image from RRUFF



Bibliography



• Jensen, A., & Petersen, O. V. (1982). Tugtupite: A gemstone from Greenland.

Photo
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(1).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(2).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(5).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(10).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(11).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(12).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(13).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(14).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(9).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image, 2x (Field of view = 7mm)
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(22).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm) 		ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(23).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm) 		ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(24).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image,10x (Field of view = 2mm)
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(25).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aegirine, aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm) 		ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(26).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm) 		ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(27).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image,10x (Field of view = 2mm)
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(28).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm) 		ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(32).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief). Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image,10x (Field of view = 2mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(33).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray). Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm)
ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(40).jpg

Tugtupite (colorless, high relief), aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (colorless, low relief) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. PPL image,10x (Field of view = 2mm)		 ilimaussaq(tugtupite)(41).jpg

Tugtupite (dark gray), aenigmatite (red) and K-feldspar (I order white-gray) crystals. Tugtupite syenite, Ilímaussaq, Greenland. XPL image, 10x (Field of view = 2mm)