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Hedenbergite  (inclusions in Quartz)
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Hedenbergite is named to honor the Swedish chemist, M.A. Ludwig Hedenberg, who first described the species.

Discovered in 1819;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

CaFe²⁺Si₂O₆

Calcium Iron Silicate

Molecular Weight:

248.09 gm

Composition: 

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates (Germanates)

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/F.01-60

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.DA.15

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
A : Inosilicates with 2-periodic single chains, Si₂O₆; pyroxene family

Related to:

Pyroxene Group. Clinopyroxene Subgroup. Hedenbergite- Johannsenite Series. Diopside-Hedenbergite Series. Hedenbergite-Petedunnite Solid Solution Series

Varieties:

Hedenbergite-Hypersthene, Manganoan Hedenbergite

Synonyms:

Funkite, Lodulite

Crystal Data

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}.

Physical Properties

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

Optical Properties

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.

Occurances

Geological Setting:

A common constituent of metamorphosed iron formations or other ferruginous siliceous sediments; common in Fe-Mn skarns. In alkalic granites, syenites, and in xenoliths in kimberlite.

Common Associations:

Grunerite (iron formations); Arfvedsonite, Quartz, Fayalite (granites, syenites).

Common Impurities:

Mn, Zn, Ti, Al, Mg, Na, K

Type Locality:

Tunaberg skarns, Tunaberg, Nyköping, Södermanland, Sweden

Year Discovered:

1819

View mineral photos:

Hedenbergite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Hedenbergite is a rock forming mineral in contact metamorphic rocks and skarns and some igneous rocks and ore bodies. It is a common mineral but rarely found in the gem trade. Hedenbergite is a member of the Pyroxene Group of minerals that includes Aegirine, Diopside, Hedenbergite, Hypersthene, Jadeite, Petedunnite and Spodumene. Hedenbergite is usually much darker than its gemstone cousin Diopside. It is mostly opaque, rarely translucent and dark green to black. It is also rarely found as fine needle inclusions in quartz which makes for a very attractive gem.

A few localities for 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 Mountain, Owyhee Co., Idaho; in the Pima district, Pima County, and the Westinghouse mine, Santa Cruz County, Arizona; at Hanover, Grant County, New Mexico. In the Vesturhorn intrusion, southeast Iceland. Large crystals from Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. In the Obira mine, Bungo, Oita Prefecture, Japan. At Tirodi, Madhya Pradesh, and Kacharwali, Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India. Fine crystals from the Skardu area, Pakistan. At Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia.
 

  
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