Grey Lithium Phantom Quartz Mineral Testing

Grey "Lithium" Phantom Quartz

This one has been on the scene for quite a few years and is always seen under this name.  Our history with testing “lithium” claims so far has resulted in…well, not a lot of lithium at all.  In fact, I’m beginning to believe lithium in quartz is simply a phenomenon that is extremely rare.  When the results came back on this material, I was not terribly surprised to find it that it contains no detectable lithium.  However, the inclusions were found to be in the chlorite family which can absolutely contain lithium.  Perhaps that fact is how someone hypothesized that these crystals contained lithium.  The bands of inclusions are composed of tiny often vermiform aggregates and the picture taken with the microscope clearly shows the chlorite form!