Thumbnails
Ilmenite crystal
Photo by Violet Anderson
© Royal Ontario Museum
Ilmenite crystals
Photo by Violet Anderson
© Royal Ontario Museum
Ilmenite crystals
© Doug Merson
FeTiO
Ilmenite, a member of the ilmenite group, is relatively common at MSH.
It forms a series with pyrophanite.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color is usually black.
Luster is metallic.
Diaphaneity is opaque.
Crystal System is hexagonal; 3.
Crystal Habits include splendid complex hexagonal plates
and rosettes to 2mm across.
Cleavage none, but good parting on {001} and {101}.
Fracture is conchoidal to uneven.
Hardness is 5 – 6.
Specific Gravity is approximately 4.72 g/cm
Streak is black.
Associated Minerals include aegirine, albite, analcime, biotite,
burbankite, calcite, catapleiite, elpidite, marcasite, microcline,
natrolite, polylithionite, pyrrhotite and zircon.
Distinguishing Features: Crystal habit and color.
Origin: Named in 1827 after its discovery locality, Lake Ilmen,
Miask, in the Southern Ilmen Mountains, Russia.
CLASSIFICATION:
Dana System
# 4.3.5.1
Strunz Classification
# IV/C.05-20
REFERENCES:
MinRec 21:315 (1990), Dana 8:226-227 (1997)
DISTRIBUTION AND RARITY AT MONT SAINT-HILAIRE:
MSH
¤¤¤
Ilmenite crystals
© Stephan Wolfsried