Spinel
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Formula:
MgAl2O4
Colour:
Black, blue, red, violet , green, brown, pink
Lustre:
Vitreous
Hardness:
7½ - 8
Specific Gravity:
3.6 - 4.1
Crystal System:
Isometric
Member of:
Name:
Named in 1779 by Jean Demeste from latin "spinella", little thorn, alluding to its sharp octahedral crystals. Confused with carbuncle = ruby in former times.
Spinel Group. Spinel-Hercynite Series, Gahnite-Spinel Series, and the Magnesiochromite-Spinel Series.
Intensely coloured varieties due to the incorporation of various impurity elements. A few spinels from Sri Lanka can show an alexandrite colour change effect.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Spinel.
Intensely coloured varieties due to the incorporation of various impurity elements. A few spinels from Sri Lanka can show an alexandrite colour change effect.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Spinel.
Classification of Spinel
Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)
4/B.01-10
4.BB.05
4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates)
B : Metal: Oxygen = 3:4 and similar
B : With only medium-sized cations
4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates)
B : Metal: Oxygen = 3:4 and similar
B : With only medium-sized cations
7.2.1.1
7 : MULTIPLE OXIDES
2 : AB2X4
7 : MULTIPLE OXIDES
2 : AB2X4
7.4.9
7 : Oxides and Hydroxides
4 : Oxides of Be, Mg and the alkaline earths
7 : Oxides and Hydroxides
4 : Oxides of Be, Mg and the alkaline earths
Physical Properties of Spinel
Vitreous
Transparency:
Transparent, Translucent
Comment:
Splendent to dull
Colour:
Black, blue, red, violet , green, brown, pink
Streak:
Greyish white
Hardness:
7½ - 8 on Mohs scale
Tenacity:
Brittle
Cleavage:
None Observed
Parting:
Separation plane {111} indistinct and probably represents parting rather than cleavage.
Fracture:
Irregular/Uneven, Splintery, Conchoidal
Density:
3.6 - 4.1 g/cm3 (Measured) 3.578 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Comment:
Increases with iron and zinc content.
Optical Data of Spinel
Type:
Isotropic
RI values:
n = 1.719
Max Birefringence:
δ = 0.000 - Isotropic minerals have no birefringence
Surface Relief:
High
Type:
Isotropic
Pleochroism:
Non-pleochroic
Comments:
Anomalous in some blue zincian varieties.
Chemical Properties of Spinel
Formula:
MgAl2O4
Common Impurities:
Ti,Fe,Zn,Mn,Ca
Crystallography of Spinel
Crystal System:
Isometric
Class (H-M):
m3m (4/m 3 2/m) - Hexoctahedral
Space Group:
Fd3m
Cell Parameters:
a = 8.0898(9) Å
Unit Cell V:
529.44 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:
8
Morphology:
Usually octahedral; less often modified by a{010} or d{011}; dodecahedral or cubic rare. Massive, coarse-granular to compact.
Twinning:
Common on {111} (spinel law), with twinned aggregates often flattened parallel to {111}, the composite plane. Sixlings due to repeated twinning noted.
Comment:
On synthetic material
Crystallographic forms of Spinel
Crystal Atlas:
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Spinel no.1 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
Spinel no.9 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
Spinel no.23 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
3d models and HTML5 code kindly provided by
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Edge Lines | Miller Indicies | Axes
Transparency
Opaque | Translucent | Transparent
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Along a-axis | Along b-axis | Along c-axis | Start rotation | Stop rotation
Epitaxial Relationships of Spinel
Epitaxial Minerals:
| Magnesiotaaffeite-2N’2S | Mg3Al8BeO16 |
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
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Radiation - Copper Kα
Data courtesy of RRUFF project at University of Arizona, used with permission.
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 4.66 | (35) |
| 2.858 | (40) |
| 2.437 | (100) |
| 2.020 | (65) |
| 1.5554 | (45) |
| 1.4289 | (55) |
| 1.0524 | (12) |
Synonyms of Spinel
Other Language Names for Spinel
Varieties of Spinel
| Alkali-spinel | Variety of Spinel containing Na2O 1.38%, K2O 1.31%. |
| Almandine Spinel | A misleading name for a natural purple spinel. |
| Aluminium Spinel | Octahedral crystals from a slag said to give analyses corresponding to the formula listed below. |
| Ceylonite | A ferroan spinel with Mg:Fe from 3:1 and 1:1 and little or no ferric iron. |
| Chlorospinel | A ferrian variety of spinel containing Fe 3+ next in abundance after Al. |
| Corundolite | An artificial Alumina-rich spinel |
| Ferropicotite | A ferroan variety of spinel. |
| Gahnospinel | A variety of spinel rich in zinc. May grade into gahnite. |
| Iron-magnesia Spinel | A ferroan variety of spinel. |
| Magnesian Chromian Spinel | From DeBeers mine (kimberlites), associated, i.a., with hawthorneite. |
| Magnochromite | A chromian variety of spinel. |
| Pleonaste | An intermediate variety of the Hercynite-Spinel Series, |
| Rozircon | |
| Rubicelle | Yellow to orange-red variety. |
| Titano-spinel | A doubtful titanian spinel. |
Relationship of Spinel to other Species
Member of:
Other Members of this group:
| Chromite | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| Cochromite | (Co,Ni,Fe)(Cr,Al)2O4 |
| Coulsonite | Fe2+V3+2O4 |
| Cuprospinel | Cu2+Fe3+2O4 |
| Filipstadite | (Sb0.5Fe0.5)Mn2O4 |
| Franklinite | Zn2+Fe3+2O4 |
| Gahnite | ZnAl2O4 |
| Galaxite | Mn2+Al2O4 |
| Hercynite | Fe2+Al2O4 |
| Jacobsite | Mn2+Fe3+2O4 |
| Magnesiochromite | MgCr2O4 |
| Magnesiocoulsonite | MgV2O4 |
| Magnesioferrite | MgFe3+2O4 |
| Magnetite | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| Manganochromite | Mn2+Cr2O4 |
| Nichromite | (Ni,Co,Fe)(Cr,Fe,Al)2O4 |
| Qandilite | (Mg,Fe3+)2(Ti,Fe3+,Al)O4 |
| Trevorite | Ni2+Fe3+2O4 |
| Ulvöspinel | Fe2TiO4 |
| Vuorelainenite | Mn2+V3+2O4 |
| Xieite | Fe2+Cr2O4 |
| Zincochromite | ZnCr2O4 |
Group Members:
Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping
| 4.BB.05 | Chromite | Fe2+Cr3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Cochromite | (Co,Ni,Fe)(Cr,Al)2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Coulsonite | Fe2+V3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Cuprospinel | Cu2+Fe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Filipstadite | (Sb0.5Fe0.5)Mn2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Franklinite | Zn2+Fe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Gahnite | ZnAl2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Galaxite | Mn2+Al2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Hercynite | Fe2+Al2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Jacobsite | Mn2+Fe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Manganochromite | Mn2+Cr2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Magnesiocoulsonite | MgV2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Magnesiochromite | MgCr2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Magnesioferrite | MgFe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Magnetite | Fe2+Fe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Nichromite | (Ni,Co,Fe)(Cr,Fe,Al)2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Qandilite | (Mg,Fe3+)2(Ti,Fe3+,Al)O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Trevorite | Ni2+Fe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Ulvöspinel | Fe2TiO4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Vuorelainenite | Mn2+V3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.05 | Zincochromite | ZnCr2O4 |
| 4.BB.10 | Hausmannite | Mn2+Mn3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.10 | Hetaerolite | ZnMn2O4 |
| 4.BB.10 | Hydrohetaerolite | ZnMn2O4 · H2O |
| 4.BB.10 | Iwakiite | Mn2+Fe3+2O4 |
| 4.BB.15 | Maghemite | Fe3+2O3 |
| 4.BB.15 | Titanomaghemite | Fe3+(Fe3+,Ti4+,Fe2+,◻)2O4 |
| 4.BB.20 | Tegengrenite | (Mg,Mn2+)2Sb5+0.5(Mn3+,Si,Ti)0.5O4 |
| 4.BB.25 | Xieite | Fe2+Cr2O4 |
Related Minerals - Hey's Chemical Index of Minerals Grouping
| 7.4.1 | Bromellite | BeO |
| 7.4.2 | Behoite | Be(OH)2 |
| 7.4.3 | Clinobehoite | Be(OH)2 |
| 7.4.4 | Chrysoberyl | BeAl2O4 |
| 7.4.5 | Magnesiotaaffeite-2N’2S | Mg3Al8BeO16 |
| 7.4.6 | Magnesiotaaffeite-6N’3S | Mg2BeAl6O12 |
| 7.4.7 | Periclase | MgO |
| 7.4.8 | Brucite | Mg(OH)2 |
| 7.4.10 | Meixnerite | Mg6Al2(OH)16(OH)2 · 4H2O |
| 7.4.11 | Lime | CaO |
| 7.4.12 | Portlandite | Ca(OH)2 |
| 7.4.13 | Chlormayenite | Ca12Al14O32[◻4Cl2] |
| 7.4.14 | Hydrocalumite | Ca4Al2(OH)12(Cl,CO3,OH)2 · 4H2O |
| 7.4.15 | Marokite | CaMn3+2O4 |
| 7.4.16 | Ranciéite | (Ca,Mn2+)0.2(Mn4+,Mn3+)O2 · 0.6H2O |
| 7.4.17 | Hollandite | Ba(Mn4+6Mn3+2)O16 |
| 7.4.18 | Romanèchite | (Ba,H2O)2(Mn4+,Mn3+)5O10 |
| 7.4.19 | Todorokite | (Na,Ca,K,Ba,Sr)1-x(Mn,Mg,Al)6O12 · 3-4H2O |
Related Minerals - Dana Grouping (8th Ed.)
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Spinel in petrology
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References for Spinel
Reference List:
Sort by Year (asc) | by Year (desc) | by Author (A-Z) | by Author (Z-A)
Klaproth, M.H. (1797) Untersuchung des Spinells, Beiträge zur chemischen Kenntniss der Mineralkörper, Zweiter Band, Rottmann Berlin, 1-11
Tilley (1923) Geol. Magazine: 40: 101.
Weigel (1923) Jb. Min., Beil.-Bd.: 48: 274.
Schlossmacher (1930) Zs. Kr.: 72: 468.
Anderson and Payne (1937) Mineralogical Magazine: 24: 547.
Palache, Charles, Harry Berman & Clifford Frondel (1944) The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana Yale University 1837-1892, Seventh edition, Volume I: 689-697.
Goodenough, J.B. and Loeb, A.L. (1955) Theory of ionic ordering, crystal distortion, and magnetic exchange due to covalent forces in spinels. Physical Review: 98: 391-408.
Smit, J. and Wijn, H.P.J. (1959) Ferrites. Physical properties of ferrimagnetic oxides in relation to their technical applications. Wiley, New York.
Sawatzky, G.A., Van Der Woude, F., and Morrish, A.H. (1969) Recoilless-fraction ratio for 57Fe in octahedral and tetrahedral sites of a spinel and a garnet. Physical Reviews: 183(2): 383-386.
Liu, L-g. (1975) Disproportionation of MgAl2O4 spinel at high pressures and temperatures: Geophysical Research Letters: 2: 9-11.
Schmocker, U. and Waaldner, F. (1976) The inversion parameter with respect to the space group of MgAl2O4 spinels. Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics: 9: L235-237.
Yamanaka, T. and Takéuchi, Y. (1983) Order-disorder transition in MgAl2O4 spinel at high temperatures up to 1700°C. Zeitschrift für Kristallographie: 165: 65-78.
Osborne, M.D., Fleet, M.E., and Bancroft, G.M. (1984) Next-nearest neighbor effects in the Mössbauer spectra of (Cr,Al) spinels. Journal of Solid State Chemistry: 53: 174-183.
Yamanaka T., et al. (1984) Acta Crystallographica (1984): B40: 96.
Della Giusta, A., Princivalle, F., and Carbonin, S. (1986) Crystal chemistry of a suite of natural Cr-bearing spinels with 0.15≤Cr≤1.07. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie Abhandlungen: 155: 319-330.
Wood, B.J., Kirkpatrick, R.J., and Montez, B. (1986) Order-disorder phenomena in MgAl2O4 spinel. American Mineralogist: 71: 999-1006.
Wood, B.J. and Virgo, D. (1989) Upper mantle oxidation state: Ferric iron contents of Iherzolite spinels by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and resultant oxygen fugacities. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta: 53: 1277-1291.
Irifune, T., K. Fujino, & E. Ohtani (1991) A new high-pressure form of MgAl2O4. Nature: 349: 409-411.
Peterson R.C., Lager, G.A., and Hitterman, R.L. (1991) A time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction study of MgAl2O4 at temperatures up to 1273 K. American Mineralogist: 76: 1455-1458.
Cynn, H., Sharma, S.K., Cooney, T.F., and Nicol, M. (1992) High-temperature Raman investigation of order-disorder behavior in the MgAl2O4 spinel. Physical Review B: 45: 500-502.
Millard, R.L., Peterson, R.C., and Hunter, B.K. (1992) Temperature dependence of cation disorder in MgAl2O4 spinel using 27 Al and 17 O magic-angle spinning NMR. American Mineralogist: 77: 44-52.
Askarpour, V., Manghnani, MH., Fassbender, S., and Yoneda, A. (1993) Elasticity of single-crystal MgAl2O4 spinel up to 1273 K by Brillouin spectroscopy. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 19: 511-519.
Cynn, H., Anderson, O.L., and Nicol, M. (1993) Effects of cation disordering in a natural MgAl2O4 spinel observed by rectangular parallelepiped ultrasonic resonance and Raman measurements. Pure and Applied Geophysics: 141: 415-444.
Della Giusta, A. and Ottonello, G. (1993) Energy and long-range disorder in simple spinels. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 20: 228-241.
Carpenter, M.A. and Salje, E.K.H. (1994a) Thermodynamics of nonconvergent cation ordering in minerals: II. Spinels and the orthopyroxene solid solution. American Mineralogist: 79: 1068-1083.
Gillot, B. (1994) Infrared spectrometric investigation of submicron metastable cation-deficient spinels in relation to order-disorder phenomena and phase transition. Vibrational Spectroscopy: 6: 127-148.
Carbonin, S., Russo, U., and Della Giusta, A. (1996) Cation distribution in some natural spinels from X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Mineralogical Magazine: 60: 355-368.
Maekawa, H., Kato, S., Kawamura, K. and Yokokawa, T. (1997) Cation mixing in natural MgAl2O4 spinel: a high-temperature 27 Al NMR study. American Mineralogist: 82: 1125-1132.
Menegazzo, G., Carbonin, S., and Della Giusta, A. (1997) Cation vacancy distribution in an artifically oxidized natural spinel. Mineralogical Magazine: 61: 411-421.
Funamori, N., R. Jeanloz, J.H. Nguyen, A. Kavner, W.A. Caldell, K. Fujino, N. Miyajima, T. Shinmei, & N. Tomioka (1998) High-pressure transformation in MgAl2O4: Journal of Geophysical Research: 103: 20813-20818.
Redfern, S.A.T., Harrison, R.J., O'Neill, H.St.C., and Wood, D.R.R. (1999) Thermodynamics and kinetics of cation ordering in MgAl2O4 spinel up to 1600° C from in situ neutron diffraction. American Mineralogist: 84: 299-310.
Andreozzi, G.B., Princivalle, F., Skogby, H., and Della Giusta, A. (2000) Cation ordering and structural variations with temperature in MgAlO4 spinel: an X-ray single-crystal study. American Mineralogist: 85: 1164-1171.
Suzuki, I., Ohno, I., and Anderson, O.L. (2000) Harmonic and anharmonic properties of spinel MgAl2O4. American Mineralogist: 85: 304-311.
Warren, M.C., Dove, M.T., and Redfern, S.A.T. (2000a) Disordering of MgAl2O4 spinel from first principles. Mineralogical Magazine: 64: 311-317.
Warren, M.C., Dove, M.T., and Redfern, S.A.T. (2000b) Ab initio simulations of cation ordering in oxides: application to spinel. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter: 12: L43-L48.
Andreozzi, G.B., Halenius, U., and Skogby, H. (2001) Spectroscopic active IVFe 3+-VIFe 3+ clusters in spinel-magnesioferrite solid solution crystals: a potential monitor for ordering in oxide spinels. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 28: 435-444.
Andreozzi, G.B. and Lucchesi, S. (2002) Intersite distribution of Fe 2+ and Mg in the spinel (sensu-stricto)-hercynite series by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. American Mineralogist: 87: 1113-1120.
Carbonin, S., Martignago, F., Menegazzo, G., and Dal Negro, A. (2002), X-ray single-crystal study of spinels: in situ heating. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 29: 503-514.
Pattrick, R.A.D., van der Laan, G., Henderson, C.M.B., Kuiper, P., Dudzik, E., and Vaughan, D.J. (2002) Cation site occupancy in spinel ferrites studied by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism: developing a method for mineralogists. European Journal of Mineralogy: 14: 1095-1102.
Da Rocha, S. and Thibaudeau, P. (2003) Ab initio high-pressure thermodynamics of cationic disordered MgAl2O4 spinel. Journal of Physics Condensed Matter: 15: 7103-7115.
Martignago, F., Dal Negro, A., and Carbonin, S. (2003) How Cr 3+ and Fe 3+ affect Mg-Al order-disorder transformation at high temperature in natural spinels. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals 30: 401-408.
Méducin, F., Redfern, S.A.T., Le Godec, Y., Stone, H.J., Tucker, M.G., Dove, M.T., and Marshall, W.G. (2004) Study of cation order-disorder in MgAl2O4 spinel by in situ neutron diffraction up to 1600 K and 3.2 GPa. American Mineralogist: 89: 981-986.
Van Minh, N. and Yang, I.-S. (2004) A Raman study of cation-disorder transition temperature of natural MgAl2O4 spinel. Vibrational Spectroscopy: 35: 93-96.
Papike, J.J., Karner, J.M., and Shearer, C.K. (2005) Comparative planetary mineralogy: Valence-state partitioning of Cr, Fe, Ti and V among crystallographic sites in olivine, pyroxene, and spinel from planetary basalts. American Mineralogist: 90: 277-290.
Martignago, F., Andreozzi, G.B., and Dal Negro, A. (2006) Thermodynamics and kinetics of cation ordering in natural and synthetic Mg(Al,Fe3+)2O4 spinels from in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction. American Mineralogist: 91: 306-312.
Princivalle, F., F. Martignago, and A. Dal Negro (2006) Kinetics of cation ordering in natural Mg(Al,Cr3+)2O4 spinels. American Mineralogist: 91: 313-318.
Tilo Zienert & Olga Fabrichnaya (2013) Thermodynamic assessment and experiments in the system MgO–Al2O3. Calphad 40, 1-9.
Widmer, R., Malsy, A.-K., Armbruster, T. (2015) Effects of heat treatment on red gemstone spinel: single-crystal X-ray, Raman, and photoluminescence study. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals 42, 251-260.
Internet Links for Spinel
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https://www.mindat.org/min-3729.html
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