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Mineral

Spessartine

Silicate Minerals

Spessartine is a nesosilicate, manganese aluminium garnet species with the formula Mn3Al2(SiO4)3, sometimes mistakenly called spessartite. Its name is a derivative of Spessart in Bavaria, Germany, the type locality of the mineral. It occurs most often in granite pegmatite and allied rock types and in certain low-grade metamorphic phyllites. Spessartine of an orange-yellow has been called Mandarin garnet and is found in Madagascar, and violet-red spessartines are found in rhyolites in Colorado and Maine. In this atlas it is the mineral species that spessartine and Mandarin garnet gemstones record.

Spessartine is a nesosilicate, manganese aluminium garnet species with the formula Mn3Al2(SiO4)3, sometimes mistakenly called spessartite. Its name is a derivative of Spessart in Bavaria, Germany, the type locality of the mineral. It occurs most often in granite pegmatite and allied rock types and in certain low-grade metamorphic phyllites. Spessartine of an orange-yellow has been called Mandarin garnet and is found in Madagascar, and violet-red spessartines are found in rhyolites in Colorado and Maine. In this atlas it is the mineral species that spessartine and Mandarin garnet gemstones record.

Facts
Chemical Formula
Mn3Al2(SiO4)3 1
Chemical Formula
Mn3Al2(SiO4)3 1
Hardness (Mohs)
7 1
The Wikipedia article gives a range of 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale; 7.0, the midpoint, is used here.
Hardness (Mohs)
7 1
The Wikipedia article gives a range of 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale; 7.0, the midpoint, is used here.
Colour
Grey or Black 2
Colour
Grey or Black 2
Colour
Brown 2
Colour
Brown 2
Colour
Red or Pink 2
Colour
Red or Pink 2
Colour
Orange or Yellow 2
Colour
Orange or Yellow 2
Lustre
Vitreous 2
Lustre
Vitreous 2
Classification
Strunz Class
Silicates 1
Strunz Class
Silicates 1
Crystal System
Cubic (Isometric) 1
Crystal System
Cubic (Isometric) 1
Use
Gemstone 2
Use
Gemstone 2
Connections

Caused By

Source Spessartine (Wikipedia)
Source Spessartine (Wikipedia)

Crystallizes In System

In Discipline

In the Other Atlases

Mineral Species Of

Also in Divinity Atlas: of this mineral species.

Sources
1. Spessartine (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Spessartine, lead paragraph
    Spessartine is a nesosilicate, manganese aluminium garnet species
  • Spessartine, article text
    Spessartine's name is a derivative of Spessart in Bavaria, Germany, the type locality of the mineral.
View the Source
2. minerals.net: Spessartine
minerals.net
  • Uses
    Transparent Spessartine can be faceted as a gemstone and used in jewelry.
  • Color field
    Orange, brown, brownish-red, red, dark red, pink, yellowish-brown, yellow, gray, black. Sometimes multicolored red and black.
  • Luster field
    Vitreous
View the Source
Spessartine (Wikipedia)
  • Caused By: Fractional Crystallization, Lead
    It occurs most often in granite pegmatite and allied rock types and in certain low-grade metamorphic phyllites.
  • Caused By: Metamorphism, Lead
    It occurs most often in granite pegmatite and allied rock types and in certain low-grade metamorphic phyllites.
View the Source
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