Sample of Helvine with quartz collected from Guangdong, China. On display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California. — Photo: Eric Polk · CC BY-SA 4.0
Helvine
Helvine is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula Be₃Mn²⁺₄(SiO₄)₃S.
It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system (space group P-43n). It is a member of the Cancrinite-sodalite, Sodalite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 6–6.5; specific gravity 3.2–3.44; White streak; Vitreous to resinous luster.
IMA symbol Hlv, grandfathered status — known before the IMA’s founding, named in 1817.
May be locally abundant in granites, granite pegmatites, gneisses, and contact zones and skarns.
It is found associated with Garnet, magnetite, fluorite, chlorite, diopside, vesuvianite.
Its name comes from the Greek for sun, in allusion to its yellow color.