Amazonite: mineralogy, crystal chemistry, and typomorphism / Амазонит: минералогия, кристаллохимия и типоморфизм

Amazonite is a mineral that has attracted scientific attention for generations and has been studied by prominent geologists including A. des Cloiseaux, N.I. Koksharov, V.I. Vernadsky, A.E. Fersman, V.M. Goldschmidt, and A.N. Zavaritsky. The history of amazonite discovery and scientific research is rich in riddles, paradoxes, misconceptions, and presuppositions. The time and place of the first amazonite finding is heavily debated even today. The very name of the mineral seems paradoxical, as there have been no known amazonite fields in the Amazon River basin. Evaluations of the mineral’s significance remain quite controversial [1, 2, 23]. Despite more than two centuries of research history and innumerable papers dedicated to amazonite, it continues to draw the attention of geologists and mineralogists. What are the reasons for this continuing interest in amazonite? <...>