|
Click on a
letter above to view the list of gems. |
|
|
|
| Brucite
is named after Archibald Bruce (1777–1818), physician
and early American mineralogist, Professor at the College
of Physicians and Surgeons (later Columbia University),
New York, New York, USA, who first described the species.
| Discovered
in 1824;
IMA
status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
|
Chemistry
|
|
|
Chemical
Formula: |
Mg(OH)2
|
|
Magnesium
Hydroxide |
Molecular
Weight: |
58.32 gm
|
Composition: |
Magnesium |
41.68 % |
Mg |
69.11 % |
MgO |
|
Hydrogen |
3.46 % |
H |
30.89 % |
H2O |
|
Oxygen |
54.87 % |
O |
|
|
|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
|
|
Classification
|
|
|
Mineral
Classification: |
Oxides
|
Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
|
4/F.03-10
|
Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
|
4.FE.05
|
|
4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites,
bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates) F : Hydroxides
(without V or U) E : Hydroxides with OH, without H2O; sheets of
edge-sharing octahedra
|
Related
to: |
Brucite
Group.
|
Members
of Group: |
Brucite
Group: Amakinite, Brucite, Pyrochroite, Portlandite,
Theophrastite
|
Varieties: |
Manganbrucite,
Nemalite
|
Synonyms: |
Amianthoid Magnesite,
Amianthus, Hydrate of Magnesia, Monoklinoëdrisches Magnesiahydrat,
Native Magnesia, Shepardite (of Brooke), Texalite
|
|
|
Crystal
Data
|
|
|
Crystallography:
|
Trigonal - Hexagonal Scalenohedral
|
Crystal
Habit:
|
Crystals
rare, tabular, to 19 cm, in platy or foliated masses
and rosettes; also fibrous, to 50 cm; granular, massive.
|
Twinning:
|
None
|
|
|
Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
Perfect
on {0001}
|
Fracture: |
Sectile,
separable plates are flexible; Fibrous, fibers
are elastic.
|
Tenacity:
|
Brittle
|
Moh's
Hardness: |
2.5
- 3.0
|
Density:
|
2.39 (g/cm3)
|
Luminescence:
|
None
|
Radioactivity:
|
Not
Radioactive
|
Other: |
Pyroelectric
|
|
|
Optical
Properties
|
|
|
Color: |
White,
pale Green, Blue, Gray; Honey-Yellow to Brownish Red
and deep Brown in manganoan varieties
|
Transparency: |
Transparent
to Translucent |
Luster: |
Vitreous
to Waxy; Pearly on cleavages |
Refractive
Index: |
1.56
- 1.60
Uniaxial ( + ); anomalously Biaxial
|
Birefringence: |
0.0200
|
Dispersion: |
None
|
Pleochroism: |
None
|
|
|
Occurances
|
|
|
Geological
Setting: |
A
common alteration of periclase in marble; a low-temperature
hydrothermal vein mineral in metamorphic limestones
and chlorite schists; formed during serpentinization
of dunites. |
Common
Associations: |
Aragonite,
Artinite, Calcite, Chrysotile, Dolomite, Hydromagnesite,
Magnesite, Talc |
Common
Impurities: |
Fe, Mn,
Zn |
Type
Locality: |
Castle Point, Hoboken, Hudson Co., New Jersey, USA
|
Year
Discovered: |
1824
|
View
mineral photos: |
Brucite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
|
|
More
Information
|
|
|
|
Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
|
|
|
Brucite
is a very rare oxide mineral that is rarely formed as
crystals. It is usually found as fibrous, granular or
massive. The rare crystals are usaully small and only
translucent. Beautiful pale green crystals have been
found at Tsumeb, Namibia. Brucite is a mineral that is not often used as a mineral specimen but does have some important industrial uses.
It is a minor ore of magnesium metal and a source of magnesia.
Brucite
is found in many localities, but rarely in crystalline
masses. In the USA, at Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey;
large crystals from Wood’s Chrome mine, near Texas,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; at the Tilly Foster
mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York; a large deposit
near Gabbs, Gabbs district, Nye County, Nevada; at the
Crestmore quarry, Riverside County, California. In Canada,
at Asbestos and Wakefield, Quebec. From Mt. Vesuvius,
Campania, and at Teulada, Sardinia, Italy. On Unst,
Shetland Islands, and at Camas Mòr, Isle of Muck, Scotland.
At Långban and Nordmark, Värmland, Sweden. From Asbest,
Ural Mountains, Russia. Fine crystals in the Ethyl mine,
Mutorashanga, Zimbabwe. From Phalaborwa, Transvaal,
South Africa. Fine crystals also found in Namibia at
the Kombat Mine, Grootfontein District, Otjozondjupa
Region; and the Tsubeb Mine, Tsumeb, Otjikoto Region.
|
Brucite
gems for sale:
We
have not photographed our Brucite gems
yet. Please
check back soon.
|
|