Stichtite
Stichtite is a beautiful cabochon type gem. Massive material is occassionally cut as cabochons but more often carved and polished as decorative items such as bookends, etc. The color is usually lilac to pink or even purple and sometimes veined with green serpentine or other contrasting minerals. This color combination is very attractive. Main sources are Black Lake, Quebec, Canada; Dundas, Tasmania, Australia; Urals Region, Russia; Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, South Africa.
| Category: | Carbonate minerals |
| Formula: | Mg6Cr2CO3(OH)16·4H2O |
| Crystallography: | Trigonal – Hexagonal Scalenohedral |
| Crystal Habit: | As aggregates of fibers or plates, commonly matted, contorted; as cross-fiber veinlets and micaceous scales. |
| Cleavage: | [0001] Perfect |
| Fracture: | Uneven |
| Tenacity: | Laminae flexible, not elastic; greasy feel |
| Moh’s Hardness: | 1.5 – 2.0 |
| Density: | 2.16 – 2.20 (g/cm3) |
| Radioactivity: | Not Radioactive |
| Color: | Lilac to Rose pink |
| Transparency: | Opaque |
| Luster: | Pearly, Waxy, Resinous, (greasy feel) |
| Refractive Index: | 1.516 – 1.542 Uniaxial ( + ) |
| Birefringence: | 0.0260 |
| Dispersion: | n/a |
| Pleochroism: | Weak; O = dark rose-pink to lilac; E = light rose-pink to lilac |
