Hedenbergite

Hedenbergite is a rock mineral that is developing contact metamorphic rocks and skarns plus some igneous rocks and ore bodies. It’s a mineral that is common rarely discovered in the gem trade. Hedenbergite is a known member of the Pyroxene number of minerals which includes Aegirine, Diopside, Hedenbergite, Hypersthene, Jadeite, Petedunnite and Spodumene. Hedenbergite is darker that is usually much its gemstone cousin Diopside. It is mostly opaque, seldom dark and translucent green to black. It’s also rarely found as fine needle inclusions in quartz making for a very gem that is appealing.

Localities that are few studied material include: in Sweden, at Nordmark, Värmland, and Yxsjö, Örebro. From Präagraten, Tirol, Austria. At Fürstenberg, Saxony, Germany. From Rio Marina, Elba, Italy. On Seriphos, Greece. In the USA, at Iron Hill, Gunnison County, Colorado; fine crystals from the Laxey mine, South Hill, Owyhee Co., Idaho; in the Pima district, Pima County, and the Westinghouse mine, Santa Cruz County, Arizona; at Hanover, Grant County, New Mexico. Within the Vesturhorn intrusion, southeast Iceland. Large crystals from Cracked Hill, New South Wales, Australia. In the Obira mine, Bungo, Oita Prefecture, Japan. At Tirodi, Madhya Pradesh, and Kacharwali, Nagpur region, Maharashtra, India. Fine crystals from the Skardu area, Pakistan. At Dal’negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia.

Category: Pyroxenes
Chemical Formula: CaFe2+Si2O6
Calcium Iron Silicate
Molecular Weight: 248.09 gm
Composition: 
Calcium 16.15 % Ca 22.60 % CaO
Iron 22.51 % Fe 28.96 % FeO
Silicon 22.64 % Si 48.44 % SiO2
Oxygen 38.69 % O
  100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE
 

 

Crystallography: Monoclinic – Prismatic
Crystal Habit: As short prismatic crystals, to 5 cm. In columnar or acicular aggregates; granular, lamellar, massive.
Twinning: Simple and polysynthetic twinning on {100} and {010}.

 

Cleavage: Good on {110}, (110) ^ (110) ~87°; partings on {100} and {010}
Fracture: Conchoidal
Tenacity: Brittle
Moh’s Hardness: 5.5 – 6.5
Density: 3.56 (g/cm3)
Luminescence: None
Radioactivity: Not Radioactive

 

Color: Black, dark Green, Green-Brown; Brownish Green in thin section.
Transparency: Transparent to Opaque
Luster: Vitreous or Dull
Refractive Index: 1.699 – 1.757  Biaxial ( + )
Birefringence: 0.0290
Dispersion: Strong; r > v
Pleochroism: Weak; X = pale green, bluish green; Y = green, bluish green; Z = green, yellow-green.