![]() |
Mineral class | Silicates : Nesosilicates : Olivine group. |
Chemical formula | Mg7(OH,F)2(SiO4)2 |
Crystal system | Orthorombic. |
Habitus | As rounded grains or tabular crystals. Also as grains or aggregates partly transformed into serpentine. |
Cleavage | [001] poor. |
Hardness | 6-6.5 |
Density | 3.1-3.2 |
Color | White to light yellow, yellowish green when transformed into serpentine. Also brown and orange. |
Streak | White. |
Luster | Vitreous, transparent to translucent. |
Description | Humite is the naming member of a group of minerals called the humite group. The crystal structure of the humite group minerals is as layers of silicate and oxide. The silicate layer have the same structure as olivine and the oxide layer resembles brucite. In the case of humite it consists of three olivine layers between each brucite layer. |
Occurance | In hydrothermal veins and contact or region metamotphosed dolomitic rocks. |
Associates | |
Notes | Very easy to mistake for chondrodite. Type locality : Mount Somma, Vesuvius, Italy. Named after Sir Abraham Hume. |
Locations | A relatively rare mineral in Sweden.
|
To silicate index. |
Mineral group index. |
Main index. |
If you have some questions, suggestions or comments you are welcome to write me a line or two.