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Ferberite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  Fe²⁺WO₄  [Iron Tungstate]

Discovered in 1863;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).
Ferberite is named after Moritz Rudolph Ferber (1805 - 1875), amateur mineralogist, from Gera, Germany.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Oxides

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

4/D.16-20

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

4.DB.30

4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates)
D : Metal: Oxygen = 1:2 and similar
B : With medium-sized cations; chains of edge-sharing octahedra

Related to:

Ferberite - Hübnerite Series. Wolframite Series.

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Monoclinic - Prismatic

Crystal Habit:

Crystals are wedge-shaped, typically flattened and elongated, to 15 cm; faces striated; in groups of bladed crystals; massive

Twinning:

Contact twins with composition plane; also interpenetrant or lamellar

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

[010] Perfect, [100] Parting, [102] Parting

Fracture:

Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

4.0 - 4.5

Density:

7.50 - 7.60 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Slightly Magnetic

Optical Properties

Color:

Black, Dark Brown on thin edges

Transparency:

Nearly Opaque to Opaque; Transparent on thin edges

Luster:

Adamantine, Metallic, Sub Metallic

Refractive Index:

2.255 - 2.414  Biaxial ( + )

Birefringence:

0.1590

Dispersion:

Extreme; r > v

Pleochroism:

n/a

Anisotropism:

Distinct; bireflectance: weak

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Occurs in high-temperature hydrothermal veins, greisens, and granitic pegmatites; in alluvial and eluvial deposits.

Common Associations:

Feldspar, Fluorite, Hematite, Marcasite, Pyrite, Scheelite, Topaz

Common Impurities:

Nb, Ta, Sc, Sn

Co-type Localities:

Jaroso Ravine, Sierra Almagrera, Los Lobos, Cuevas de Almanzora, Almería, Andalusia, Spain;
Sierra Almagrera, Almería, Andalusia, Spain

Year Discovered:

1863

View mineral photos:

Ferberite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Ferberite is a rare member of the Wolframite mineral series that also includes Hübnerite. Hübnerite is the Manganese rich end member while Ferberite is the Iron rich end member and Wolframite is the intermediate between the two. Ferberite is a minor ore of Tungsten which is an important industrial element. Notable occurances include Bolivia; China; England; Germany; Peru; Russia; South Korea; and Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico and South Dakota, USA.
 

  
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