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Ilímaussaq is one of the most diversely mineralized locales in the world, with roughly 220 mineral species reported (Sørensen et al., 2001). More than a dozen of them have been found to fluoresce under ultraviolet light, some brightly, and they occur in a startling range of textures with multi-colored responses.
These minerals are largely a feature of the intrusion's agpaitic magma phase, discussed under Ilímaussaq, which resulted in a range of extremely Na-rich minerals. Portions of the late-stage melts became highly enriched in Zr, Nb, REE, and Be, as well as volatiles, and many unusual minerals resulted. Among the elements concentrated, beryllium in particular is notable. It is found in the peculiar fluorescent minerals tugtupite, beryllite, and sorensenite.
Brief details on six of the area's more spectacular fluorescent species can be found at left. Addtitional photographs of these minerals fluorescing under UV can be found at our photo gallery. For a general species listing from the deposit, click here.
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