Bikitaite Locality: Gaston County , North Carolina , USA ( Locality at mindat.org ) A MAJOR specimen for the species, featuring crystals to 2 cm on solid bikitaite matrix! Old material, hard to come by, and this is the best I have seen. 11.2 x 5 x 2 cm — Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bikitaite
Bikitaite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula LiAlSi₂O₆·H₂O.
It crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system (space group P2_1/m).
Key properties: Mohs hardness 6; specific gravity 2.29–2.3; White streak; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Bik, IMA status: approved, named in 1957.
Found as a late-formed mineral in fractures in lithium-rich pegmatites.
It is found associated with Eucryptite, quartz, petalite, feldspar, calcite, stilbite, allophane (Bikita, Zimbabwe); albite, quartz, fairfieldite (Foote mine, North Carolina, USA).
The name is derived from the locality, Bikita, Zimbabwe.