Muséum national d'histoire naturelle _ The species

FROM : Shan Li Yuan, 150 km NW of Shenzou, Sichuan province, China
SIZE : 25 cm

This large sample of babingtonite is shown on a plate measuring 25 cm. The tabular crystals of babingtonite measure 3 to 4 cm, opaque and black. Numerous, the crystals are scattered all over the specimen, they are associated to microcrystalline prehnite.

This specimen was acquired thanks to support from Total and is kept in the storage rooms of the collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (i.e., not yet displayed to the public).

Photography: Louis-Dominique Bayle , © MNHN.

SPECIE : Babingtonite

HISTORY : Species dedicated to the Irish mineralogist William Babington (1757-1833)

Species first described in 1824 by Serve-Dieu Abailard (dit Armand) Lévy (1795-1841), French mineralogist, from samples of Forster-Heuland-Turner collection

Type-locality: Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway

CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ca2 (Fe2+,Mn) Fe3+ Si5O14 (OH)
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Triclinic
COLOR : Green blackish, black
DIAPHANIETY : Opaque to translucent
LUSTER : Vitreous
STREAK : Light green
MORPHOLOGY : Prismatic crystals, striated, forming aggregates
HARDNESS : 5,5-6,0
DENSITY : 3,26

CHEMICAL CLASS : IX - Silicates
GROUP : Rhodonite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 8/F.27-20
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 9.DK.05

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Babingtonite

Babingtonite

MNHN N°206.107

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