Xontolite in a leucocratic rock intruded into the serpentinite in the southern part of the Sambagawa metamorphic terrane at Shiraki, Mie Prefecture occurs as colorless or palegreen colored veinlets with vitreous luster and transparency up to 2mm in width cutting veinlets of pectolite and vesuvianite in which Fe-chlorite occurs as a black-colored wall material. It shows parallel extinction to elongation and the sign of elongation is positiive. The refractive indices: α=1.584, β=1.584, γ=1.956 and γ-α=0.012. The specific gravity is 2.71 by the buoyancy method. X-ray powder diffraction shows that splitting is seen in the pair of (401)-(401), the peak for (401) of which is observed as a shoulder, becoming distinct with heat treatment up to 500°C. DTA-TG of the xonotlite shows endothermic reactions at 801°C (parawollastonite) and 1140°C (pseudowollastonite) and gives 5.15% loss of weight. The larger content of water may be responsible for the lower peak temperature than the previous data in the literature on DTA-TG curves.
The pectolite and vesuivanite also contain larger amount of water than the previously reported data by other authors.
The xonotlite from Shiraki appears to have been formed in the later stage of crystallization as precipitates from silicate solution with a lower temperature in the presence of abundant water.
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