Sonolite
Sonolite | |
---|---|
![]() Sonolite (in bottom left corner) with zincite and manganosite | |
General | |
Category | Silicate minerals |
Formula (repeating unit) | Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2 |
Strunz classification | 9.AF.55 |
Dana classification | 52.3.2d.3 |
Crystal system | Monoclinic |
Crystal class | Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) |
Space group | P21/b[1] |
Unit cell | a = 4.87 Å, b = 10.66 Å c = 14.28 Å β = 100.3°, Z = 2[1] |
Identification | |
Color | Red-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown Colorless in thin section[1] |
Twinning | Common, singular or lamellar on {101}[1] |
Mohs scale hardness | 5.5 |
Luster | Vitreous, Dull |
Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent[2] |
Density | 3.82–4.00 (measured)[1] |
Optical properties | Biaxial (-) |
Refractive index | nα = 1.765 nβ = 1.778 nγ = 1.787 |
Birefringence | δ = 0.022 |
2V angle | 75° to 82° (measured) |
Dispersion | r > v[1] |
References | [3] |
Sonolite is a mineral with formula Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2. The mineral was discovered in 1960 in the Sono mine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. In 1963, it was identified as a new mineral and named after the Sono mine.
Description[]
Sonolite is transparent to translucent[2] and is red-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown in color and colorless in thin sections. The mineral has a granular habit or occurs as prismatic to anhedral crystals up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in).[1] Sonolite is the manganese analogue of clinohumite,[4] a dimorph of jerrygibbsite,[1] and a member of the humite group.[3]
The mineral occurs in metamorphosed manganese-rich deposits. Sonolite has been found in association with calcite, chlorite, franklinite, galaxite, manganosite, , rhodochrosite, tephroite, willemite, and zincite.[1]
History[]
In 1960, Mayumi Yoshinaga was investigating alleghanyite and other manganese orthosilicates in Japan. He discovered a dull, red-brown mineral on the first level ore body of the Sono Mine, and later from a number of other sites.[4] Using samples from ten locations in Japan and one in Taiwan, the mineral was described in 1963 and identified as a new mineral species.[5] It was named sonolite after the mine in which it was first found and the name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association.[3][4]
Distribution[]
As of 2012, sonolite has been found in Austria, France, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.[3] The type material is held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.[1]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "Sonolite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Sonolite". Webmineral. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Sonolite". Mindat. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Yoshinaga 1963, p. 1.
- ^ Yoshinaga 1963, pp. 1–2.
Bibliography[]
- Yoshinaga, Mayumi (January 25, 1963). "Sonolite, a New Manganese Silicate Mineral" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Science, Kyushu University. 14 (1): 1–21. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
Further reading[]
- Cook, David (September–October 1969). "Sonolite, Alleghanyite and Leucophoenicite from New Jersey" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 54 (9 & 10): 1392–1398.
External links[]
Media related to Sonolite at Wikimedia Commons
- Monoclinic minerals
- Minerals in space group 14
- Manganese(II) minerals
- Nesosilicates
- Hydroxide minerals
- Fluorine minerals