Muséum national d'histoire naturelle _ The species

FROM : Rocher d'Armentiers, Oisans, Isère, France
SIZE : 6.8 x 3.7 x 3.8 cm

This sample is a ferroaxinite coming from Rocher d'Armentiers in Isère, France. The centimetric crystals are terminated and transparent and are brown-red. The sample measures 6.8 x 3.7 x 3.8 cm.

Acquired thanks to support from Total, it 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 : Ferroaxinite

HISTORY : Name derived from the English word "axe", because of the shape of its crystals and from "ferro" for the iron it contains

Species first described in 1909 by Waldemar Theodore Schaller (1882-1967), American mineralogist

Type-locality: Saint Christophe en Oisans, Isère, France
ANCIENT NAME : Schorl violet rhomboïdal

CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ca2 Fe2+ Al2 B Si4O15 (OH)
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Triclinic
COLOR : Brown, dark brown
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to translucent
LUSTER : Vitreous
STREAK : White
MORPHOLOGY : Flattened crystals, granular, massive
HARDNESS : 6,5-7,0
DENSITY : 3,33

CHEMICAL CLASS : VIII - Silicates
GROUP : Axinite
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 8/E.06-20
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 9.DB.20

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Ferroaxinite

Ferroaxinite

MNHN N°191.20

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