ACTINOLITE – Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2

Actinolite is an inosilicate of the Amphibole Supergroup. It is a very common mineral, typical of

metamorphic rocks. It is mined when it occurs with fibrous habit and is marketed as “asbestos”, but this but
this usage is less and less due to health concerns. The variety “nephrite” is one of the types of jade and is
extremely expensive.
Actinolite is part of the Actinolite Group, which is a series of solid solutions between tremolite (without
Fe), actinolite (with Fe+Mg) and ferroactinolite (with Fe). For the detailed classification of amphibole, see other
bibliography.
There is a variety of actinolite with an intense green color due to a content of Cr, called “smaragdite”,
which occurs in eclogites with retrograde metamorphism as pseudomorphosis on omphacite. “Nephrite” is a
green rock composed basically of micro- to cryptocrystalline fibrous actinolite, one of the two minerals (with
jadeite) being marketed as jade.

1. Characteristics:
Crystal System Color Habit Cleavage
Monoclinic Green, green-black, Tabular crystals, may be {110} good.
prismatic. gray-green. fibrous radiating,
Tenacity asbestiform.
Massive, granular.
Brittle.
Twinning Fracture Mohs Hardness Parting
By {100} or {001} Splintery. 5-6 By {100}.
common, simple or
lamellar.
Streak Lustre Diaphaneity Density (g/cm3)
White. Vitreous to peraly. Transparent. 3.03 – 3.24

2. Geology and deposits:

Actinolite is a mineral restricted to low-grade metamorphic rocks. Thus, it is common in sediments rich
in Ca-Mg-Fe that were regionally metamorphosed to schists, the so-called greenschists. It is found in
metamorphosed mafic and ultramafic rocks such as meta-basalts, meta-gabbros and “greenstones”. May be
present in contact metamorphic rocks such as adinoles.
Also occurs in metasomatic rocks such as scarnites and propylites. It rarely occurs in pegmatites.
It also occurs in blueschists as a retrograde mineral.
Tremolite and actinolite are also common alteration products of pyroxene and hornblende, in which
case they are known as uralite. May occur in any rocks hosting pyroxene and/or hornblende.

3. Mineral Associations:
It occurs associated with other typical minerals of low-grade metamorphic paragenesis: quartz,
albite, Chlorite Group minerals, lawsonite, glaucophane, epidote, pumpellyite and talc.
It is also associated with calcite, titanite, magnetite, axinite (Fe), prehnite, plagioclase (oligoclase)
and dyscrasite.
When it occurs as “nephrite”, it is associated with diopside, garnet (grossular), rutile, graphite,
apatite, vesuvianite, prehnite, datolite, talc, serpentine, titanite, chromite, magnetite and pyrite.
4. TRANSMITTED LIGHT MICROSCOPY
Refraction indices nα: 1.613 – 1,646 nβ: 1.624 – 1,656 nγ: 1.636 – 1,6

PPL Color / Colorless, pale green to darker green with shades of blue. Typical pleochroism:
pleochroism: X = colorless, pale yellowish green;
Y = pale yellow-green, pale blue-green,
Z = pale green, green, blue-green.
Darker colors and stronger pleochroism are associated with higher Fe content.

Relief: Moderate. Increases with increasing Fe content.

Cleavage: {110} perfect.

Longitudinal sections show only one cleavage, parallel to the crystallographic
(vertical) z-axis.
Basal sections show two cleavages that intersect at 124º and 56º angles,
forming rhombs (as in all amphiboles).

Habits: Long prismatic crystals, may be fibrous. Subhedral to anhedral forms, but
bladed forms can occur; basal sections may form rhombs. As a typical mineral
of low-grade metamorphic rocks, crystals are often very small.

CPL Birefringence and Birefringence of 0.017 – 0.027: 1st order colors to colors of low 2nd order:
interference colors: grey, yellow, orange, red. They may be masked by the mineral's own color.
Color intensity decrease with increasing Fe content.

Extinction: Oblique, with an angle of 10 – 17º.

Elongation sign: ES(+).

Twins: They are relatively common, both simple and lamellar.

Zoning: Often zoned.

CL Character: B(-) 2V angle: 65 – 86º

Alterations: actinolite alters to talc, chlorite and calcite.

May be confused with: some other minerals, but the cleavage is very diagnostic.
Tremolite is very similar, but it is colorless and does not show pleochroism.
Green hornblende is very similar, but have a stronger colors and stronger pleochroism in PPL. Actinolite
never shows brown colors like hornblende.
Arfvedsonite have much stronger (darker) colors in PPL and always with blue tones.
Orthorhombic amphiboles (antophyllite, holmquistite, ferrogedrite, etc.) show parallel extinction.
Cummingtonite is very similar but tends to have a positive optical signal and has a higher refractive index.
In addition, cummingtonite often has very fine lamellar twins.
Wollastonite is similar but has nearly parallel extinction, a smaller 2V angle and occur in other paragenesis.
Below, two sequences showing longitudinal sections of actinolite with its characteristic pleochroism in
shades of green and bluish-green. Images from left and center in PPL, rotated 90º in relation to each other.
Image from right in CPL.

In PPL, basal sections of actinolite with their typical rhombic Simple twin in actinolite. CPL.
shapes and showing two cleavage directions that intersect at 56
and 124º.

In the left image, in PPL, there is a large longitudinal section of actinolite with bluish-green colors, then a light
green chlorite, and, on the right, a basal section of actinolite in green. The image in the middle shows the
same set rotated by 90º, showing the pleochroism of the minerals. The image on the right, In CPL, shows
actinolite with a yellowish interference color and chlorite with a violet-purple color.
In meta-ultramafic rock, aggregate of chlorite and actinolite, both with an almost fibrous habit. Left, in PPL,
both are green with weak pleochroism. On the right, in CPL, actinolite show its low interference colors
(yellowish) and chlorite has a strong anomalous blue interference color.

The same situation as the previous images (above), but in this case there is more chlorite and therefore
more blue colors in CPL..

Early clinopyroxene phenocrystal, probably augite, in acidic volcanic rock. The crystal is intensely uralitized,
forming green hornblende and/or actinolite. Macroscopically it resembles a green tourmaline. In PPL (left) it
has a fibrous appearance and green pleochroism. In CPL (right) shows strong colors and almost parallel
extinction.
5. REFLECTED LIGHT MICROSCOPY:
Reflected light microscopy is not the recommended analytical method for the identification of
actinolite. However, it is important to make a polished thin section or a polished section to identify the opaque
minerals that occur associated with actinolite.

Sample preparation: the polishing of actinolite is not difficult and follows the polishing of other silicates from
the actinolite paragenesis.

PPL Reflection colour: Dark gray, a bit ligther than quartz.

Pleochroism: No.

Reflectivity: Very low (~4%) Bireflectance: No.

CPL Isotropy / Anisotropy: Without anisotropy.

Internal reflections: Light green, widespread, very luminous to very dark. Multicolored
reflections are relatively common, depending on the orientation of the
cleavages to the plane of the polished section.

May be confused with: other amphiboles with a prismatic habit and dark green color. The very dark
reflections make it difficult to recognize actinolite.

Grain shape: the long prismatic form is very typical of amphibole and helps to recognize actinolite.

Cleavage is usually visible.

Polishing pits are common in many of the sections.

Extinction is symmetrical in relation to the cleavages and the shape in the rhombic basal sections.

In PPL (left) and in CPL (right), long prismatic actinolite crystals. These crystals are especially well
developed. When with smaller sizes, recognition is not so easy.
Left: in PPL, magnetite (pink gray) and actinolite (dark gray). In the center of the image are two
actinolite crystals side by side: the one on the right shows cleavage and the one on the left,
because of its orientation, shows no cleavage.
Right: in CPL, the same situation. Actinolite show generalized internal reflections in very dark
green. Multicolored reflections are possible. The magnetites are almost black (isotropic) because
the nicols are uncrossed in 2o.

In CPL, rhombic basal

sections of actinolite with its
characteristic dark green
internal reflections. In some
of the sections, it is possible
to see the typical amphibole
cleavage.

Edition of January 2022