Home > American Minerals II – April 7 > MS1558 Ilvaite
Ilvaite
- Laxey mine
- South Mountain
- Owyhee County
- Idaho
- U.S.A.
- 3.4 by 2.6 by 2.1 – Thumbnail specimen (fits into a 2.5 cm cube)
Ilavite is a calcium iron soro-silicate hydroxide. The mineral name comes from Ilva, the Latin name for Elba Island, site of the type locality (Steffens, 1811). Ilvaite contains iron in two valence states, Fe2+ and Fe3+; the mineral strongly absorbs visible light as electrons jump between the differently charged iron atoms; this so called electronic charge transfer renders ilvaite black. Takéuchi et al. (1983) found some ilvaite samples are orthorhombic while others are monoclinic.
This specimen consists of a single crystal of ilvaite, 2.2 by 2.1 by 2.2 cm, with a sidecar. This is a nice example from a defunct American locality. Attached are radiating hedenbergite and an unidentified tan coating.
Price: $50
Item code: MS1558
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