Serpentine (Serpentine Group)
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Serpentine was named in 1564 by German Catholic scholar and scientist Georgius Agrigola (1494-1555) from the Latin word serpens meaning snake in allusion to the mottled green appearance of the mineral suggesting the resemblance to some snakes.

Serpentine first cited in 1564; IMA status: Not Valid (name of a Group of minerals)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

D₃[Si₂O₅](OH)₄ +/- n(H₂O); (Serpentine Group)
Mg₃(Si₂O₅)(OH)₄; (Antigorite, Lizardite & Chrysotile)

Magnesium Silicate Hydroxide (Antigorite, Lizardite & Chysotile)

Molecular Weight:

277.11 gm (Lizardite)

Composition (Lizardite):

Magnesium

26.31 %

Mg

43.63 %

MgO

Silicon

20.27 %

Si

43.36 %

SiO₂

Hydrogen

1.45 %

H

13.00 %

H₂O

Oxygen

51.96 %

O

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates (Germanates)

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/H.27-20

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.ED.15

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
E : Phyllosilicates
D : Phyllosilicates with kaolinite layers composed of tetrahedral and octahedral nets

Related to:

Serpentine Group (a subgroup of the Kaolinite-Serpentine Group). Closely related to Antigorite.

Members of Group:

Serpentine Group: Antigorite, Chrysotile, Clinochrysotile, Lizardite.

Kaolinite-Serpentine Group: Amesite, Antigorite, Baumite, Berthierine, Brindleyite, Caryopilite, Chrysotile, Clinochrysotile, Cronstedtite, Dickite, Fraipontite, Greenalite, Halloysite, Kaolinite, Kellyite, Lizardite, Manandonite, Nacrite, Népouite, Odinite, Orthochrysotile, Parachrysotile, Pecoraite, Webskyite 

Varieties:

Bastite, Marmolite, Ni-Serpentine, Nickeliferous Serpentine, Pelhamine, Radiotine, Retinalite, Ricolite, Serpentinasbest, Serpentine Jade

Synonyms:

Hydrophite, Kandite, Kaolinite Group, Piknotrop, Pycnotrope, Pyknotrop, Serpentine, Serpophite

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Triclinic - Pinacoidal (Lizardite)

Crystal Habit:

(Lizardite) Crystals rare, to 2 mm, as trigonal plates to truncated trigonal pyramids. Commonly as extremely fine-grained scales and massive aggregates.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

Perfect on {0001}

Fracture:

n/a

Tenacity:

Crystals are easily bent.

Moh's Hardness:

2.5

Density:

2.55 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Green, light yellow to white; colorless to pale green in thin section

Transparency:

Translucent

Luster:

Waxy

Refractive Index:

1.538 - 1.568  Uniaxial (-) to slightly Biaxial (-)

Birefringence:

0.012

Dispersion:

Weak to distinct

Pleochroism:

n/a

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Typically a product of retrograde metamorphism, replacing Olivine, Orthopyroxene, or other minerals in ultramafic igneous rocks.

Common Associations:

Chrysotile, Brucite, Magnetite

Common Impurities:

n/a

Type Locality:

Eastern Cliff, Kennack Cove (Kennack Sands), Kennack, Grade-Ruan, Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, England, UK (Lizardite)

Year Discovered:

1956 (Lizardite)

View mineral photos:

Serpentine Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org (Serpentine Group)
Mindat.org (Antigorite)
Mindat.org (Chrysotile)
Mindat.org (Lizardite)
Webmineral.com (Antigorite)
Webmineral.com (Chrysotile)
Webmineral.com (Lizardite)

Serpentine is not the name of a distinct mineral species but is the name of a group of minerals: the Serpentine Group. The Serpentine Group includes Antigorite, Chrysotile and Lizardite. These three minerals are polymorphous, meaning they have essentially the same chemistry but different structures. Antigorite is a fairly common member of the group, but Lizardite is the most abundant Serpentine. The Serpentine Group is a subgroup of the Kaolinite-Serpentine Group. The Serpentine Group describes a group of common rock-forming magnesium phyllosilicate minerals that may contain minor amounts of other elements including chromium, cobalt, iron, manganese or nickel. As the members of the Serpentine Group are not always easy to differentiate from one another, they may just be referred to as Serpentine.

Serpentine was named in 1564 by Georgius Agrigola (1494-1555) from the Latin word serpens meaning snake in allusion to the mottled green appearance of the mineral suggesting the resemblance to some snakes. Georgius Agrigola was a German Catholic scholar and scientist known as "the father of mineralogy". His birth name was Georg Pawer (Bauer in modern German). Agricola is the Latinized version of his name, by which he was known his entire adult life. Agricola and Bauer mean "farmer" in their respective languages. He is best known for his book De Re Metallica (Latin for On the Nature of Metals (Minerals)). It is a book cataloguing the state of the art of mining, refining, and smelting metals at the time. It was published in 1556, a year after his death, due to a delay in preparing woodcuts for the text. The book was the authoritative text on mining for 180 years after its publication. It was also an important chemistry text for the period and is significant in the history of chemistry.

Distribution: Probably the most common serpentine mineral. A few prominent localities for well-studied material include: at Kennack Cove, The Lizard, Cornwall, England. On Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland. From near Val Sissone, Lombardy, and Val Trebbia, Piacenza, Italy. In Japan, from Maruo Odori and Kodo, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and at Hamao, Fukuoka Prefecture. At Woodsreef, New South Wales, Australia. From the Jeffrey mine, Asbestos, Quebec, and the Cassiar mine, British Columbia, Canada. In the USA, in the Stillwater complex, Montana.
 

  
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