Halite

Halite is the common evaporite mineral, NaCl, used as table salt worldwide. It is arguably the most well-known mineral in the world. It has a formula unit composition of NaCl, and is in the cubic crystal system. In pure form it is nearly transparent or white.

Rotation of the halite structure such that you are looking at an axis going from one corner of the cube to the opposite corner will show the six-fold internal symmetry of the structure.

Highlighting Features

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Sodium (Na) atoms
Chlorine (Cl) atoms
Single unit cell
All atoms

Distribution and uses

This water soluble mineral is found in sedimentary deposits. Used as table salt, large deposits are found in Poland, Germnay, Austria, Italy and China. It is a major component of saline and salt-affected soils, and causes dispersion of clays, making it difficult to leach the NaCl from the soil unless a flocculating agent (such as gypsum) is added.

Crystallographic Data

Reference

Finger, L.W., and H. King. 1978. A revised method of operation of the single-crystal diamond cell and refinement of the structure of NaCl at 32 kbar. American Mineralogist. 63:337-342.


This page is part of the Virtual Museum of Minerals and Molecules. All rights reserved to the Minerals & Molecules Project. For further information about the CHIME plug-in, see the Chime Source and Reference Page.

Original release: 1 Oct 1998;