Cryolite is the fluoride of sodium and aluminium, it is found in Greenland in pale greyish-white or yellowish-brown cleavable masses often enclosing brown siderite and grey galena. It always occurs in pegmatites where it's probably a precipitate from fluoride rich solutions. It has been used as a source of aluminium, and is used in the manufacture of sodiumsalts, certain kinds of high quality glass and hard porcelain, and as a flux for cleaning metal surfaces. It has the formulae Na3AlF and a relative hardness of 3 and has a vitreouslustre. Research Cryolite
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Abbreviations
Rocks & Minerals
Research Cryolite
