Staurolite

(Si; Al)4 O20 (O; OH)4

c 20 01 Mineral Data Publishing, v er sion 1 .2

(Fe2+ ; Mg)2 Al9

Crystal Data:
M onoclinic, pseudo-ort horhombic. Point Group:
2=m:
C
om monly in prismatic crys tals exhibiting f110g, f010g, f001g, and f101g,
typically rough, to 12 cm.
Twinning: Commonly as 60 twins with f231g as twin plane, may be cyclic; le
ss commonly as 90
crucifor m twins with f031g as twin plane.
Physical Properties:
oidal.
Tenacity: Brittle.
3.686

Cleavage:
Hardness = 7{7.5

Distinct on f010g. Fr acture: Subconch

D(meas.) = 3.74{3.83

D( calc.) =

Optical Properties :
Trans parent to opaque. Color: D ark reddis h brown
to blackish brown, yellowish brown, r arely blue; pale golden yellow in t
hin section.
St reak: White to grayish. Lus ter: Subvit reous t o resinou
s.
Opt ical Class:
B iaxial ( +).
Pleochroism: X = colorles s; Y = pale yel
low; Z = golden yellow.
Orientation: X = b; Y = a; Z = c.
D ispers ion: r > v; weak.
Absorpti
on: Z > Y > X.
= 1.736{1.747
= 1.742{1.753
= 1.748{1.761
2V(meas .) = 80 {90
Cell Data:
Space G roup:
C 2=m:
c = 5.632{5.663
= 90:00 90:45
Z = 2

a = 7.863{7.871

b = 16.534{16.613

X-r ay Powder Pattern: Pizzo Forno, Switzerland. ( ICDD 15-397).

3.012 (100) , 2.693 ( 100) , 2.372 ( 80), 3.559 (60), 2.400 (60), 1.515 (60),
1.511 (60)
Chemistry:
27.82
TiO2
0.32
Al2 O 3
54.91
Fe2 O3
0.43
Cr2 O 3
0.01
FeO
12.39
(1) MnO
0.22
CoO
0.02
ZnO
0.19
MgO
0.62
Li2 O
0.36
H2 O
[2.26]
Total
[99.55]

(1) SiO2

(1) B lack Mountain, G raf ton Co., New Hampshir e, USA; by electron and ion
micr oprobe, average of 23 analyses, H O determined on a s eparat e sample;
corresponds to (Fe2+ Li
Mg
Mn
Zn0: 02 ) =1:81 ( Al8 :64 Fe3 +4 Ti0 :03 ) =8:7 1 (Si3:8 5 Al0 :15 ) =4:0 0 O24 H2:
08 :
Occurr ence:
Common in pelit ic schists, gneis ses, and argillaceous r ocks
regionally metamorphosed to amphibolite grade; also a detr ital mineral.
Association:

Almandine, s illimanite, kyanite, tourmaline, muscovite, quart z

, chloritoid.
Di stribution:
Wides pread, with ne crystals from , for example: at Pizz
o Forno and Alpe Piona, Ticino, Switzerland. O n M t. Greiner, Zillertal,
Tirol, Austr ia. From the Keivy massif, Kola Peninsula, Russ ia. Large twi
ns, in the old Pr ovinces of Finis tere and M orbihan, in
\B rittany," France. From Fanzer es, Por tugal. In the USA, at Franconia, Gr a
ft on Co., New Hampshire; Chest er eld, Hamps hire Co., Mass achusett s; near B
lue Ridge, Fannin Co., Georgia; near Picures , Taos Co., New M exico. In B
razil, in M inas Ger ais, fr om Rubellita and Ardenella; Agua Quente, Rio Pa
r do de Minas; and Fazenda Graniais .
Name:
.

Derived from the G reek for a cros s, des cr ibing the common twins

References: (1) Dana, E.S. (1892) Dana's system of mineralogy, (6th editi
on), 558{560. (2) Deer, W.A., R.A. Howie, and J. Zussman (1982) Rock-formin
g miner als, (2nd edition) ,
v. 1A, ort hosilicat es, 816{866. (3) Hawthorne, F.C., L . Ungar et ti, R.
Oberti, F. Caucia, and A.
Callegar i (1993) The crystal chemistry of staur olite. I. Crys tal struct ur
e and s it e populat ions . Can. Mineral., 31, 551{582. (4) Hawthorne, F.C.
, L. Ungaretti, R. O bert i, F. Caucia, and
A. Callegari (1993) II. Order-disorder and the monoclinic ! orthorhombic pha
se transition. Can. M ineral., 31, 583{595. (5) Hawthor ne, F.C., L. Ungare
t ti, R. Oberti, F. Caucia, and A. Callegar i (1993) III. L ocal order and
chemical composition. Can. Miner al., 31, 597{616.
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