Karpinskite

(named after Academician A. P. Karpińskii), a compound silicate mineral. The chemical composition con-forms closely to the formula Na2(Be, Zn, Mg )Al2[Si₆Oi6(OH)₂].It crystallizes in the trigonal system, forming radiating aggre-gates of acicular crystals. White in color, it has a hardness of 2.0on the mineralogical scale and a density of 2, 545 kg/m³. It wasfirst found in the small cavities of albite and natrolite in thenatrolite-albite pegmatites of the Lovozero Massif in theKhibiny Mountains (Kola Peninsula). The mineral was discov-ered and described by L. L. Shilin in 1956.