pyroxene

pyroxene, any of a group of important rock-forming silicate minerals of variable composition, among which calcium-, magnesium-, and iron-rich varieties predominate.

General considerations

Pyroxenes are the most significant and abundant group of rock-forming ferromagnesian silicates. They are found in almost every variety of igneous rock and also occur in rocks of widely different compositions formed under conditions of regional and contact metamorphism. The name pyroxene is derived from the Greek pyro, meaning “fire,” and xenos, meaning “stranger,” and was given by Haüy to the greenish crystals found in many lavas which he considered to have been accidentally included there.

Pyroxenes crystallize in both the orthorhombic and monoclinic crystal systems. Typically pyroxenes occur as stubby prismatic crystals. They are chemically analogous to the amphiboles except that, as discussed above, hydroxyls are absent in the pyroxene structure. They are similar in colour, lustre, and hardness to the amphiboles but have slightly higher densities owing to the absence of hydroxyls. Pyroxenes have two distinctive planes of cleavage with intersecting angles of about 87° and 93°. Perpendicular to their cleavage planes, pyroxenes have nearly square cross sections, which, together with the cleavage directions, are diagnostic properties.

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Chemical composition

Click Here to see full-size tableThe chemical composition of minerals of the pyroxene group can be expressed by the general formula XYZ₂O₆, in which X= Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Mg²⁺, Li⁺; Y= Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, Ti⁴⁺; and Z= Si⁴⁺, Al³⁺. The range of possible chemical substitutions in pyroxene is constrained by the sizes of the available sites in the structure and the charge of the substituting cations. The Xcation sites in general are larger than the Ycation sites. Extensive atomic substitution occurs between the ideal end-member compositions. Most pyroxenes have only limited substitution of aluminum for silicon in the Z(tetrahedral) site. When a substituting ion differs in charge, electrical neutrality is maintained by coupled substitutions. For example, the pair consisting of Na⁺ and Al³⁺ substitutes for 2 Mg²⁺. The Table shows the five major chemical subdivisions of pyroxenes.

The most common pyroxenes can be represented as part of the chemical system CaSiO₃ (wollastonite, a pyroxenoid), MgSiO₃ (enstatite), and FeSiO₃ (ferrosilite). Since no true pyroxenes exist with calcium contents greater than that of the diopside-hedenbergite join, the part of this system below this join is known as the pyroxene quadrilateral. Ferrous iron and magnesium substitute freely since they have similar ionic sizes and identical charges. Complete substitution exists between enstatite (Mg₂Si₂O₆) and ferrosilite (Fe₂Si₂O₆), and complete solid solution of iron for magnesium exists between diopside (CaMgSi₂O₆) and hedenbergite (CaFeSi₂O₆). Augite, subcalcic augite, and pigeonite lie within the interior of the pyroxene quadrilateral. Compositionally, augite is related to members of the diopside-hedenbergite series with limited substitution of Na⁺ for Ca²⁺, Al³⁺ for Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺, and Al³⁺ for Si⁴⁺ in the Z(tetrahedral) site. Augites with substantial aluminum or sodium cannot be strictly represented in the quadrilateral plane. Monoclinic pigeonite encompasses a field of magnesium-iron solid solution with a slightly higher calcium content than the orthorhombic enstatite-orthoferrosilite series.

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Coupled substitutions involving Na⁺, Li⁺, or Al³⁺ for Mg²⁺in the enstatite structure yield pyroxenes that lie outside the quadrilateral compositional field. The coupled substitution of Na⁺ and Al³⁺ for 2 Mg²⁺ in enstatite produces the pyroxene jadeite. The coupled substitution of Na⁺ and Fe³⁺ for 2 Mg²⁺ produces the pyroxene aegirine (acmite). Substitution of Li⁺ and Al³⁺ for 2 Mg²⁺ yields spodumene. The substitution of Al³⁺ for Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺ for Si⁴⁺ yields the ideal tschermakite component MgAlSiAlO₆.

Other less common pyroxenes with compositions outside the pyroxene quadrilateral include johannsenite [CaMnSi₂O₆], and kosmochlor (ureyite) [NaCrSi₂O₆]. Johannsenite involves the substitution of manganese for iron in hedenbergite. Kosmochlor has chromium (Cr) in place of iron or aluminum in a sodic pyroxene.

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The nature of aluminum substitution in pyroxenes varies significantly from one pyroxene to another. In the magnesium-iron pyroxene group, aluminum is usually present in only small amounts. In both jadeite and spodumene, which contain essential aluminum in the Y site, the substitution of silicon by aluminum in the Z tetrahedral site is almost negligible. In augite there can be extensive substitution of aluminum for tetrahedral silicon.

At high temperatures, pyroxenes have more extensive fields of solid solution than they do at lower ones. Consequently, as temperatures decrease, the pyroxene adjusts its composition in the solid state by exsolving a separate phase in the form of lamellae within the host pyroxene grain. The lamellae are exsolved along specific crystallographic directions, producing oriented intergrowths with parallel and herringbone texture. There are five principal combinations of exsolution pairs: (1) augite with enstatite lamellae, (2) augite with pigeonite lamellae, (3) augite with both pigeonite and enstatite lamellae, (4) pigeonite with augite lamellae, and (5) enstatite with augite lamellae.

The pyroxenes differ compositionally from the amphiboles in two major respects. Pyroxenes contain no essential water in the form of hydroxyls in their structure, whereas amphiboles are considered to be hydrous silicates. The second key chemical difference between the two is the presence of the Asite in amphiboles which contains the large alkali elements, typically sodium and at times potassium; the pyroxenes do not have an equivalent site that can accommodate potassium. Hydroxyl groups in the amphibole structure decrease their thermal stability relative to the more refractory pyroxenes. At high temperatures amphiboles decompose to anhydrous minerals.