Cahnite (Cahnit in German, Cahnita in Spanish, Канит in Russian[3]) is a brittle white or colorless mineral that has perfect cleavage and is usually transparent. It usually forms tetragonal-shaped crystals and it has a hardness of 3 mohs.[4][5] Cahnite was discovered in the year 1921.[3] It was named Cahnite to honor Lazard Cahn (1865–1940), who was a mineral collector and dealer.[4] It is usually found in the Franklin Mine, in Franklin, New Jersey,[5][4] but has also been found in Japan[6] as well as in the Vallerano quarries in Rome, Italy.[7] The geological environment that it occurs in is in pegmatites cutting a changed zinc orebody.[3][4][5] The chemical formula for cahnite is Ca2B[AsO4](OH)4.[5][8][9] It is made up of 26.91% calcium, 3.63% boron, 25.15% arsenic, 1.35% hydrogen, and 42.96% oxygen. It has a molecular weight of 297.91 grams.[5] Cahnite is not radioactive.[4] Cahnite is associated with these other minerals: willemite, rhodonite, pyrochroite, hedyphane, datolite, and baryte.[3]
| Cahnite | |
|---|---|
 Cahnite on rhodonite | |
| General | |
| Category | Borate minerals |
| Formula (repeating unit) | Ca2B[AsO4](OH)4 |
| IMA symbol | Cah[1] |
| Strunz classification | 6.AC.70 |
| Crystal system | Tetragonal |
| Crystal class | Disphenoidal (4) (same H-M symbol) |
| Space group | I4 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Colorless to white |
| Cleavage | Perfect On {110} |
| Tenacity | Brittle |
| Mohs scale hardness | 3 |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent |
| Density | 3.156 g/cm3 |
| References | [2] |
References
edit- ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
- ^ Mineralienatlas
- ^ a b c d Mindat data sheet for Cahnite.
- ^ a b c d e Mineral Data sheet for Cahnite.
- ^ a b c d e Database entry from Mineral Collecting.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Article stating that veins of cahnite were found in Okayama Prefecture. Archived 2012-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cahnite". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ Database entry for Cahnite from Mincryst.
- ^ Database entry for Cahnite from Japanese database.
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