Liidrite

Liidrite is a fictional mineral species created for educational and speculative mineralogy. It is described in teaching datasets as a lithium-bearing silicate that illustrates common mineralogical concepts, but it is not recognized as a real mineral by the International Mineralogical Association.

In the most frequently cited descriptions, liidrite features a framework silicate structure in which Li+ ions occupy interstitial sites within a SiO4 tetrahedral network. The composition may include substitutions by Fe2+/Fe3+, Mg2+, Al3+, or Mn2+, producing a range of solid solutions from Li-rich to mixed-metal varieties. The hypothetical crystal system is shown as monoclinic with variable cell parameters, reflecting the polymorphism common to framework silicates in teaching examples.

In fictional accounts, liidrite forms in late-stage pegmatites and hydrothermal veins, commonly associated with quartz, spodumene, lepidolite, and other lithium-bearing minerals.

Reported physical properties in teaching descriptions typically include a hardness around 5.5–6.5, a vitreous to pearly luster, and a white to pale-green color. It is used to demonstrate concepts such as ionic substitution, solid-solution series, and lithium mobility in mineral lattices.

Notes: This article describes a fictional mineral and should not be taken as a real mineral entry. No specimens have been reported to the IMA or in peer-reviewed sources under the name liidrite.