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Maw-sit-sit  (Kosmochlor - Jade)
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  NaCr[Si₂O₆] + Fe, Mg

Discovered in the early 1960's;   IMA status: Not Valid
Maw-Sit-Sit is named after the area where it was discover in Kachin State, Upper Myanmar (Burma). The name Kosmochlor is from the German kosmisch, for cosmic, in allusion to its meteoritic occurrence, and the Greek chlor, for green.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/F.01-10  (Kosmochlor)

8 : Silicates
F : Inosilicates (chain and band) double chains [Si2O6]4-
01 : Pyroxene group, Clinopyroxene

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Monoclinic - Prismatic  (Kosmochlor)

Crystal Habit:

Massive

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

[110] Good  (Kosmochlor)

Fracture:

Irregular to Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Hardness (Mohs):

Varies, up to 7.0

Density:

2.50 - 3.20 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Vivid Emerald Green to Dark Green, with black splotches, swirls and veins

Transparency:

Opaque

Luster:

Vitreous to Greasy

Refractive Index:

1.52 - 1.74; most commonly around 1.52

Birefringence:

Varies

Dispersion:

Moderate to Strong; r > v  (Kosmochlor)

Pleochroism:

Strong; X = yellowish green; Y = blue-green, grass-green; Z = emerald-green (Kosmochlor)

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Maw-sit-sit was the result of high pressure, low temperature metamorphism of a chromium-rich ultramafic rock.

Type Locality:

Tawmaw, Myitkyina-Mogaung District, Kachin State, Myanmar

Year Discovered:

Early 1960's

View mineral photos:

Kosmochlor Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org  (Kosmochlor)
Webmineral.com  (Kosmochlor)

Maw-sit-sit was discovered in Tawmaw, Myitkyina-Mogaung District, Kachin State, Myanmar (Burma) in the early 1960's near the historic imperial Jadeite mines of northern Myanmar. It is a rock not a mineral. This means it is composed of several minerals each containing their own mixture of chemicals. It is a chromium-rich metamorphic rock with a vivid green base color mixed with black spots, bands, blotches and swirls. The dominant mineral is Kosmochlor, a sodium chromium pyroxene, that constitutes about 60% of the Maw-sit-sit mixture. The next ingredient, about 15%, is chromium-enriched Jadeite followed by chromium Ekermannite, about 4%, and chromium Albite at about 1%. The common element in each mineral is chromium which is the strongest influence on the vivid, emerald green color of Maw-sit-sit. It can also contain other mineral impurities or inclusions such as pure chromite, that can be seen as shiny "chrome" looking flecks, and white Natrolite streaks and bands. Maw-sit-sit is always opaque and makes beautiful cabochons, beads and carvings.

The only source of Maw-sit-sit is still the place where it was discovered, Tawmaw, Myitkyina-Mogaung District, Kachin State, Myanmar (Burma).
 

  
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