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Download hereGENERAL DESCRIPTION
Enstatite is a magnesium silicate (more or less ferrous) belonging to the pyroxenes family of minerals. It is formed in igneous and metamorphic rocks as well as in foundeorites. This mineral is also observed in interstellar dust, apart from the solar system.
The prismatic crystals are lamellate, even fibrous. They are transparent to opaque, show a vitreous lustre and are of yellow-, to green olive or brown in colour (bronzite variety). They can measure jusqu'à 40 cm in length.
There are many deposits of great enstatite crystals throughout the world: Mbeya in Tanzania, Odegarden and Kjörrestad in Norway, Summit Rock'n'roll in Oregon, USA. Gemmeous crystals were discovered in Embilipituya in Sri Lanka.
In France, enstatite is also abundant in the Massif Central: Limousin, Haute-Loire and Puy de Dôme in particular within more or less serpentinized peridotites, just like in the Pyrénées range (Lherz, Ariège).
The type of this species and its location are not definable because this species is well-known since at least the XVIIth century.
Did you know? It is used as an ornemental and gem stone.
HISTORY : Name inspired from the Greek word "ενστατεσ" [enstates] meaning resistant, en relation to its infusibility
Species first described in 1855 by Gustav Adolf Kenngott (1818-1897), Swiss mineralogist
Type-locality: Berge Zdjar, Moravia, Czech Republic
CHEMICAL FORMULA : Mg2Si2O6
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Orthorhombic
COLOR : White, grayish, greenish, green-olive, brown
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to opaque
LUSTER : Vitreous to pearly
STREAK : White to grayish
MORPHOLOGIE : Prismatic crystals, lamellars, fibrous or massive
HARDNESS : 5,0-6,0
CHEMICAL CLASS: 3,189
DENSITY : VIII - Silicates
GROUP : Enstatite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 8/F.02-10
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 9.DA.05
