Zircon | |
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General | |
Category | Mineral |
Formula (repeating unit) | zirconium silicate ZrSiO4 |
Crystal system | Tetragonal Ditetragonal Dipyramidal 4/m 2/m 2/m |
Space group | Tetragonal 4/m 2/m 2/m |
Unit cell | a = 6.607(1) Å, c = 5.982(1) Å; Z=4 |
Identification | |
Color | Reddish brown, yellow, green, blue, gray, colorless; in thin section, colorless to pale brown |
Crystal habit | tabular to prismatic crystals, irregular grains, massive |
Twinning | On {101} |
Cleavage | indistinct, on {110} and {111} |
Fracture | Conchoidal to uneven |
Tenacity | Brittle |
Mohs scale hardness | 7.5 |
Luster | Vitreous to adamantine; greasy when metamict. |
Streak | White |
Diaphaneity | Transparent to opaque |
Specific gravity | 4.6–4.7 |
Optical properties | Uniaxial (+) |
Refractive index | nω = 1.925-1.961 nε = 1.980-2.015, 1.75 when metamict |
Birefringence | δ = 0.047–0.055 |
Pleochroism | Weak |
Fusibility | Infusible |
Solubility | Insoluble |
Other characteristics | Fluorescent and radioactive, may form pleochroic halos |
References | [1][2][3][4] |
Reinerite is a rare arsenite (arsenate(III)) mineral with formula Zn3(AsO3)2, known especially from the polymetallic Tsumeb deposit.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ Handbook of Mineralogy
- ^ Mindat
- ^ Webmineral
- ^ Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., ISBN 0-471-80580-7
- ^ http://www.mindat.org/min-3386.html Mindat
- ^ http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/reinerite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy