Muséum national d'histoire naturelle _ The species

FROM : Dalnegorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia
SIZE : 21 x 20 x 19 cm

This calcite, measuring 21 x 20 cm, is colorless and transparent with a particular crystalline shape. Its facets are bright and have an icy aspect. There is no scratch nor impact on its surface.

This calcite monocrystal was discovered in a metal-bearing skarn in Dalnegorsk in Russia and it was acquired thanks to support from Total. This sample is currently exposed in the Treasure Room, within the Gallery of Mineralogy of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.

Photography: Louis-Dominique Bayle, © MNHN.

SPECIE : Calcite

HISTORY : Name inspired from the Latin word "calx" meaning burned chalk

Species first described in 1836 by Johann Karl Freiesleben (1774-1846), officer of the mines of Saxony

Type-locality: undefined because species already known from the Ancients
ANCIENT NAME : Spath d'Islande, chaux carbonatée

CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ca CO3
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Rhomboedric
COLOR : Colourless, white, color depending on inclusions
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to opaque
LUSTER : Vitreous, pearly
STREAK : White
MORPHOLOGY : Well-formed crystals common, forming concretions
HARDNESS : 3,0
DENSITY : 2,71

CHEMICAL CLASS : V - Carbonates, nitrates
GROUP : Calcite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 5/B.02-20
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 5.AB.05

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MNHN N°195.148

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