Sonolite

Sonolite
Sonolite (in bottom left corner) with zincite and manganosite
General
Category Silicate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)		 Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2
Strunz classification 9.AF.55
Dana classification 52.3.2d.3
Crystal system Monoclinic
Crystal class Prismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space group P21/b[1]
Unit cell a = 4.87 Å, b = 10.66 Å
c = 14.28 Å
β = 100.3°, Z = 2[1]
Identification
Color Red-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown
Colorless in thin section[1]
Twinning Common, singular or lamellar on {101}[1]
Mohs scale hardness 5.5
Luster Vitreous, Dull
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent[2]
Density 3.82–4.00 (measured)[1]
Optical properties Biaxial (-)
Refractive index nα = 1.765
nβ = 1.778
nγ = 1.787
Birefringence δ = 0.022
2V angle 75° to 82° (measured)
Dispersion r > v[1]
References [3]

Sonolite is a mineral with formula Mn9(SiO4)4(OH,F)2. The mineral was discovered in 1960 in the Sono mine in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. In 1963, it was identified as a new mineral and named after the Sono mine.

Description

Sonolite is transparent to translucent[2] and is red-orange, pinkish brown to dark brown in color and colorless in thin sections. The mineral has a granular habit or occurs as prismatic to anhedral crystals up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in).[1] Sonolite is the manganese analogue of clinohumite,[4] a dimorph of jerrygibbsite,[1] and a member of the humite group.[3]

The mineral occurs in metamorphosed manganese-rich deposits. Sonolite has been found in association with calcite, chlorite, franklinite, galaxite, manganosite, pyrochroite, rhodochrosite, tephroite, willemite, and zincite.[1]

History

In 1960, Mayumi Yoshinaga was investigating alleghanyite and other manganese orthosilicates in Japan. He discovered a dull, red-brown mineral on the first level ore body of the Sono Mine, and later from a number of other sites.[4] Using samples from ten locations in Japan and one in Taiwan, the mineral was described in 1963 and identified as a new mineral species.[5] It was named sonolite after the mine in which it was first found and the name was approved by the International Mineralogical Association.[3][4]

Distribution

As of 2012, sonolite has been found in Austria, France, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.[3] The type material is held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Sonolite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Sonolite". Webmineral. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sonolite". Mindat. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Yoshinaga 1963, p. 1.
  5. ↑ Yoshinaga 1963, pp. 1–2.

Bibliography

  • Yoshinaga, Mayumi (January 25, 1963). "Sonolite, a New Manganese Silicate Mineral" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Science, Kyushu University. 14 (1): 1–21. Retrieved June 20, 2012.

Further reading

  • Cook, David (September–October 1969). "Sonolite, Alleghanyite and Leucophoenicite from New Jersey" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 54 (9 & 10): 1392–1398.

Media related to Sonolite at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.