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

7.2.1.1

7 : MULTIPLE OXIDES
2 : AB₂X₄

7.4.9

7 : Oxides and Hydroxides
4 : Oxides of Be, Mg and the alkaline earths

Vitreous

Transparent, Translucent

Splendent to dull

Black, blue, red, violet , green, brown, pink

Greyish white

7½ - 8

Brittle

None Observed

Separation plane {111} indistinct and probably represents parting rather than cleavage.

Irregular/Uneven, Splintery, Conchoidal

3.6 - 4.1 g/cm³ (Measured)    3.578 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Increases with iron and zinc content.

Isotropic

n = 1.719

δ = 0.000 - Isotropic minerals have no birefringence

High

Isotropic

Non-pleochroic

Anomalous in some blue zincian varieties.

Ti,Fe,Zn,Mn,Ca

Isometric

m3m (4/m 3 2/m) - Hexoctahedral

Fd3m

a = 8.0898(9) Å

V 529.44 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)

8

Usually octahedral; less often modified by a{010} or d{011}; dodecahedral or cubic rare. Massive, coarse-granular to compact.

Common on {111} (spinel law), with twinned aggregates often flattened parallel to {111}, the composite plane. Sixlings due to repeated twinning noted.

On synthetic material

Radiation - Copper Kα

Data Set: Pein Pyit, Mogok, Burma 1096 unknown 1282 Mogok, Burma 1686 Burma 1693

Data courtesy of RRUFF project at University of Arizona, used with permission.

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

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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.

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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.

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