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Titanite crystal
Photo by Violet Anderson
© Royal Ontario Museum
Titanite crystal
Photo by Violet Anderson
© Royal Ontario Museum
Titanite crystals
© Doug Merson
(Ca,REE)(Ti,Al,Fe)SiO(O,OH,F)
Titanite is fairly common at Mont Saint-Hilaire. It was formerly known as sphene. MSH has provided some exceptional crystals.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color ranges from lemon-yellow to pale green, greenish yellow,
bright orange, pink and pale violet.
Luster is adamantine.
Diaphaneity is transparent to translucent.
Crystal System is monoclinic; 2/
Crystal Habits include superb elongated prisms to 1cm, wedge-
shaped crystals and as embedded granular masses.
Cleavage {110} is distinct.
Fracture is uneven to subconchoidal.
Hardness is 5 – 5.5
Specific Gravity is approximately 3.5 g/cm
Streak is white.
Associated Minerals include aegirine, albite, amphibole group,
analcime, ancylite, biotite, calcite, eudialyte, fluorapatite,
gonnardite, labuntsovite, microcline, molybdenite, nepheline,
polylithionite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and quartz.
Distinguishing Features: Crystal habit.
Origin: Named in 1795 to reflect its titanium content.
CLASSIFICATION:
Dana System
# 52.4.3.1
Strunz Classification
# VIII/B.12-10
REFERENCES:
MinRec 21:343 (1990), Dana 8:1092-1094 (1997)
DISTRIBUTION AND RARITY AT MONT SAINT-HILAIRE:
MSH
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Titanite crystals
© Doug Merson
Titanite crystals
© Stephan Wolfsried
Titanite crystals
© Stephan Wolfsried