Brucite



Brucite
CategoryMineral
Chemical formulaMg(OH)2
Identification
Colorwhite, pale green, blue, gray; honey-yellow to brownish red
Crystal habitplaty or foliated masses and rosettes - fibrous to massive
Crystal systemTrigonal (Hexagonal Scalenohedral)
Cleavageperfect 0001
Fractureirregular
Tenacitysectile
Mohs Scale hardness2.5 to 3
Lustervitreous to pearly
Refractive indexnω = 1.560 nε = 1.580
Optical PropertiesUniaxial (+)
Birefringence0.020 max.
Streakwhite
Specific gravity2.39 to 2.40
Diaphaneitytransparent
Other CharacteristicsPyroelectric

Brucite is the hardness of 2.5.

Brucite is a common alteration product of chrysotile. Notable locations include Wood's Chrome Mine, Cedar Hill Quarry, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Brucite was first described in 1824 and named for the discoverer, American mineralogist, Archibald Bruce (1777-1818).

See also

References

  • Mindat
  • Webmineral data
  • Mineral Data Publishing
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Brucite". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.