Chamosite
Chamosite could be the iron end that is rich of the Chlorite Group of minerals that includes Chamosite, Clinochlore, and Cookeite among other people. Chamosite had been discovered and called in 1820 by Pierre Bertier, a mining and mineralogist engineer from Nemours, France. It was discovered at Haut de Cry, near Chamoson, Valais, Switzerland and named following the municipality that is nearby of. The mineral that is new discovered in an area of low to moderate grade metamorphosed iron deposits as gray or black crystals in the oolitic iron ore. Chamosite may be green, gray-green, black or brown with pearly luster and is also weakly magnetic.
Locations for Chamosite: Many localities, but characterization that is careful necessary. From Chamoson, Valais, and in the Maderantal, Uri, Switzerland. At He·rmanovice and Kladno, Czech Republic. From Schmiedefeld, near Suhl, and Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany. In England, at Frodingham, Lincolnshire; Wickwar, Gloucestershire; at Penzance, Cornwall, and somewhere else. At Knowehead, County Antrim, Ireland. In the Arakawa mine, Akita Prefecture, and also at Shogase, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. From Creede, Mineral County, Colorado; near Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas; and in the Beacon Hill mine, Champion, Marquette County, Michigan, United States Of America. At Wabana, Newfoundland, Canada.
| Chemical Formula: | (Fe2+,Mg)5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 |
| Iron Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide | |
| Molecular Weight: | 664.18 gm |
| Composition: | Magnesium | 5.49 % | Mg | 9.10 % | MgO |
| Aluminum | 8.12 % | Al | 15.35 % | Al2O3 | |
| Iron | 29.43 % | Fe | 32.45 % | FeO / 6.01 % Fe2O3 | |
| Silicon | 12.69 % | Si | 27.14 % | SiO2 | |
| Hydrogen | 0.91 % | H | 8.14 % | H2O | |
| Oxygen | 43.36 % | O | |||
| 100.00 % | 98.19 % | = TOTAL OXIDE |
| Crystallography: | Monoclinic – Prismatic |
| Crystal Habit: | In scaly aggregates, foliated or granular; oolitic, made up of very minute radiating crystals; massive. |
| Twinning: | Twin and composition plane {001}, axis [310] |
| Cleavage: | Perfect on {001} |
| Fracture: | Irregular/uneven |
| Tenacity: | Somewhat flexible but inelastic. |
| Moh’s Hardness: | 2.0 – 3.0 |
| Density: | 3.00 – 3.40 (g/cm3) |
| Luminescence: | None |
| Radioactivity: | Not Radioactive |
| Other: | Weakly magnetic |
| Color: | Green, greenish grey, black, brown; in thin section, colorless, yellowish, green |
| Transparency: | Translucent to opaque |
| Luster: | Pearly |
| Refractive Index: | 1.600 – 1.670 Biaxial ( – ) |
| Birefringence: | 0.070 |
| Dispersion: | Strong; r < v |
| Pleochroism: | Weak to moderate; X = yellow-green to light brownish green; Y = Z = green to dark green. |
