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Silicate · Inosilicate — single-chain silicate (clinopyroxene) · Pyroxene Group

Spodumene

LiAlSi₂O₆

The hard-rock source of lithium — the battery in your phone, the glass on your stove, and the pink gemstone kunzite all start life as this humble-looking pegmatite crystal.

Hardness6.5–7
Crystal systemMonoclinic
LusterVitreous
Sp. gravity3.03–3.23
ClassSilicate
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Spodumene specimen

Spodumene — striated prismatic crystals from a lithium pegmatite; pink gem material is kunzite — Photo: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0

What is Spodumene?

Spodumene is lithium aluminium silicate — LiAlSi₂O₆ — a member of the pyroxene family and the mineral that built the lithium industry. The battery in your phone most likely began as a gray-green spodumene crystal in a pegmatite.

To a collector it looks unremarkable — striated, flattened prisms in off-white and gray — until it isn't: the same species produces kunzite (lilac-pink, colored by manganese, discovered in California and named for Tiffany's George Frederick Kunz) and hiddenite (emerald-green, colored by chromium, named for mineral dealer William Hidden). Yellow stones go by the old name triphane.

Spodumene grows big: pegmatite crystals measured in meters are on record, including ~14-meter giants from the Etta mine in South Dakota — among the largest mineral crystals ever found.

In one sentence: Spodumene is a hard pegmatite pyroxene with near-right-angle cleavage, a splintery break, and a lithium crimson flame test; its pink and green forms are the gems kunzite and hiddenite.

Physical Properties

The full data table is in the panel alongside. Here’s what those numbers actually mean.

Hardness and cleavage. Mohs 6.5–7 — hard enough to scratch glass — but with two perfect prismatic cleavages meeting near 87°/93° plus extra partings, it splits into splintery laths. Gem cutters fight this cleavage; the trade-off is high brilliance.

Pyroxene structure. Single chains of SiO₄ tetrahedra running the length of the crystal explain both the elongated habit and the easy splitting along the chains.

Color and light. Common spodumene is white-to-gray. Manganese makes kunzite's pink (with strong pleochroism — deeper pink seen down the crystal's length) but the color fades in sunlight; chromium makes hiddenite's rare green. Kunzite fluoresces pink-orange under UV.

Density. SG ~3.0–3.2 — lighter than its lookalike beryl, and far lighter than the lead minerals it sometimes shares a display shelf with.

Varieties

Same chemistry, different faces — trace impurities and how finely it crystallizes give a whole family of familiar stones.

Kunzite
Kunzite
Lilac to pink · Manganese (Mn³⁺) — fades in strong sunlight
Hiddenite
Hiddenite
Green · Chromium

How & Where It Forms

Spodumene crystallizes in lithium-rich granitic pegmatites — the LCT type — where the last, most exotic fraction of a granite melt concentrates lithium, beryllium and other rare elements. It typically forms early, in the pegmatite's core zones, alongside quartz, feldspar, lepidolite, beryl and tourmaline.

Near the surface it is unstable: weathering turns it to clay and eucryptite, which is why pristine crystals come from fresh pegmatite rock.

Often grows alongside:

QuartzAlbiteMicroclineLepidoliteBerylTourmalinePetaliteEucryptiteAmblygoniteCassiterite

What It’s Used For

Lithium oreThe main hard-rock source of lithium — mined at Greenbushes and elsewhere, processed into the lithium chemicals behind batteries and ceramics.
GemstonesPink-lilac kunzite and rare green hiddenite are cut for collectors and jewelry — beautiful but cleavable.
Glass & ceramicsHeat-treated spodumene lowers thermal expansion in glass-ceramics, glazes and cookware.
Collector specimensGiant striated prisms and gem-grade crystal pockets are pegmatite trophies.

How to Identify It

In a pegmatite, look for striated flattened prisms that split into splintery laths along near-right-angle cleavage — quartz shows conchoidal fracture instead, and feldspar's cleavages meet at 90° without the splintering. A crimson flame on a splinter confirms lithium. Pink + pleochroism = kunzite; chromium-green = hiddenite.

Scratches glass but not quartz — H 6.5–7Two perfect cleavages near 87° plus splintery parting — breaks into flat lathsElongated striated prisms in pegmatiteA splinter colors a flame crimson — lithiumKunzite is pink, strongly pleochroic, and fades in sunlight
Looks like…But differs because…Quick test
QuartzNo cleavage and a glassy conchoidal break; spodumene splits into flat splintery lathsCleavage
FeldsparTwo cleavages at ~90°, slightly softer, and no splintery partingCleavage angle
DiopsideA fellow pyroxene, but usually darker green and lacking the lithium flameFlame test
BerylHexagonal prisms, harder (7.5–8), no cleavageCleavage & hardness
TremoliteAmphibole cleavage meets at ~56°/124°, not ~87°/93°, and habits are fibrousCleavage angle
PetaliteSimilar pale color and lithium content, but only one perfect cleavageCleavage count

Where It’s Found

Notable localities for fine specimens:

Pala district (Pala Chief & Himalaya mines), USA Hiddenite, USA Kunar Valley (Laghman–Nuristan), Afghanistan Governador Valadares & Itinga, Brazil Greenbushes, Australia Tanco Mine, Bernic Lake, CanadaOpen the locality map →

References & Further Reading

  1. Dana's New Mineralogy, 8th ed. Pyroxene group, clinopyroxenes.
  2. Mindat.org — Spodumene mineral data and locality records.
  3. Wikipedia — Spodumene.

Last reviewed 2026-09-14 · How to cite this page.