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Poirierite

A valid IMA mineral species

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Formula:

Mg₂SiO₄

Specific Gravity:

3.326 (Calculated)

Crystal System:

Orthorhombic

Name:

in honour of Jean-Paul Poirier (May 13, 1935 - ), French physicist who greatly contributed to mineral physics, including the theoretical prediction of ε-Mg2SiO4.

Co-Type Localities:

ⓘ Tenham meteorite, Tenham Station, Windorah, Barcoo Shire, Queensland, Australia
ⓘ Suizhou meteorite (Suizhou L6 chondrite), Xihe, Zengdu District (Cengdou District), Suizhou, Hubei, China

Polymorph of:

Forsterite, Ringwoodite, Wadsleyite

This page provides mineralogical data about Poirierite.

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Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

54351

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:54351:0

GUID
(UUID V4):

9e60ab97-7cca-4215-85fb-245d34971e00

IMA Classification of PoirieriteHide

IMA status:

Approved

Type description reference:

Tomioka, N., Bindi, L., Okuchi, T., Miyahara, M., Iitaka, T., Li, Z., ... & Kodama, Y. (2021). Poirierite, a dense metastable polymorph of magnesium iron silicate in shocked meteorites. Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1), 1-8.

Classification of PoirieriteHide

Strunz-mindat (2024):

9.AC.

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
A : Nesosilicates
C : Nesosilicates without additional anions; cations in octahedral [6] coordination

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference
Poi	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of PoirieriteHide

Density:

3.326 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Chemistry of PoirieriteHide

Mindat Formula:

Mg₂SiO₄

Elements listed:

Mg, O, Si - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of PoirieriteHide

Crystal System:

Orthorhombic

Class (H-M):

mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) - Dipyramidal

Space Group:

Pmma

Setting:

Pmma

Cell Parameters:

a = 5.801(11) Å, b = 2.905(9) Å, c = 8.411(16) Å

Ratio:

a:b:c = 1.997 : 1 : 2.895

Unit Cell V:

141.74 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
3.405 Å	(54)
2.804 Å	(71)
2.742 Å	(62)
2.482 Å	(95)
2.053 Å	(82)
1.469 Å	(100)
1.453 Å	(32)
1.450 Å	(32)

Comments:

Calculated. These XRD values are not in the printed type description, but are available online as Supplementary Information.

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Stage 2: Planetesimal differentiation and alteration	4.566-4.550
6 : Secondary asteroid phases	4.566-4.560

Type Occurrence of PoirieriteHide

Co-Type Localities:

ⓘ Tenham meteorite, Tenham Station, Windorah, Barcoo Shire, Queensland, Australia
ⓘ Suizhou meteorite (Suizhou L6 chondrite), Xihe, Zengdu District (Cengdou District), Suizhou, Hubei, China

General Appearance of Type Material:

Nanoscale lamellar crystals topotactically intergrown within wadsleyite and within ringwoodite.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

Mineralogical collections of the (1) Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Firenze, Via La Pira 4, I-50121, Florence, Italy, catalogue number 3238/I (holotype – Suizhou), and (2) the Department of Geology and Paleontology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan, sample number NSM-MF15125 (cotype – Tenham).

Geological Setting of Type Material:

Shocked meteorite.

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Ringwoodite	Majorite	Majorite	Lingunite	Lingunite
Hiroseite	Hemleyite	Asimowite	Akimotoite

Reference:

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

9.AC.	Ahrensite	SiFe₂O₄	Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m)
9.AC.05	Fayalite	Fe²⁺₂SiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)
9.AC.05	Forsterite	Mg₂SiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)
9.AC.05	Glaucochroite	CaMn²⁺SiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)
9.AC.05	Kirschsteinite	CaFe²⁺SiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) : Pnma
9.AC.05	Laihunite	(Fe²⁺_0.5◻_0.5)Fe³⁺[SiO₄]	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
9.AC.05	Liebenbergite	Ni₂SiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)
9.AC.05	Tephroite	Mn²⁺₂SiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) : Pnma
9.AC.10	Monticellite	CaMgSiO₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)
9.AC.15	Brunogeierite	Ge⁴⁺Fe²⁺₂O₄	Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fd3m
9.AC.15	Ringwoodite	(Mg,Fe²⁺)₂SiO₄	Iso. m3m (4/m 3 2/m) : Fd3m
9.AC.20	Chesnokovite	Na₂[SiO₂(OH)₂] · 8H₂O	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m) : Ibca

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for PoirieriteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-54351.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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External Links:

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Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

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References for PoirieriteHide

Reference List:

Pushcharovsky, D.Yu. (2023): STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF MINERALS IN THE EARTH’S MANTLE: THE NEW HIGH PRESSURE POLYMORPHOUS MODIFICATIONS OF OLIVINE AND WOLLASTONITE, Zapiski RMO, 152(5), 66-82.

http://forum.amiminerals.it/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19088&sid=a4920f7b91214a423c7dc7c0692d8b1f

Miyawaki, Ritsuro, Hatert, Frédéric, Pasero, Marco, Mills, Stuart J. (2020) IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) - Newsletter 54. European Journal of Mineralogy, 32 (2) 275-283 doi:10.5194/ejm-32-275-2020

Tomioka, N., Bindi, L., Okuchi, T., Miyahara, M., Iitaka, T., Li, Z., Kawatsu, T., Xie, X., Purevjav, N., Tani, R., Kodama, Y. (2021). Poirierite, a dense metastable polymorph of magnesium iron silicate in shocked meteorites. Communications Earth & Environment, 2(1), 1-8. doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00090-7

(2023) Poirierite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for PoirieriteHide

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.


Australia (TL)
Queensland Barcoo Shire Windorah Tenham Station ⓘ Tenham meteorite (TL)	Miyawaki et al. (2020) +1 other reference

China (TL)
Hubei Suizhou Zengdu District (Cengdou District) Xihe ⓘ Suizhou meteorite (Suizhou L6 chondrite) (TL)	Miyawaki et al. (2020) +1 other reference

USA
Texas Roberts County ⓘ Miami meteorite	Miyawaki et al. (2020) +1 other reference

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