Cancrinite is a complex carbonate and silicate of sodium, calcium and aluminium with the formula Na6Ca2(water. It is classed as a member of the feldspathoid group of ; the alkali that are poor in silica. Yellow, orange, pink, white or even blue, it has a vitreous or pearly luster; a hardness of 5–6 and an uneven conchoidal fracture. It is unusual among the silicate minerals in that it will Effervescence with hydrochloric acid due to the associated carbonate .
Found originally in 1839 in the Ural Mountains, it is named after Georg von Cancrin, a minister of finance.[
]
