Home > American Minerals IV – August 26 > MS1635 Brucite (ex Wheeler)

Brucite (ex Wheeler) - Sold


Brucite is magnesium hydroxide. The mineral name honors Archibald Bruce, founder of the American Mineralogical Journal, which ran 1810-1814, and was the first geological journal in the United States. In the first number of his Journal, Bruce described this species as native magnesia. Immediately following his untimely death, Silliman (1818) renamed the species after Archibald Bruce (1777-1818).

Brucite here forms hexagonal plates with pearly luster, to 2.0 cm across. The entire surface of the specimen consists of brucite crystals mostly grown in parallel. Some crystals show rhombohedral forms, and the brucite crystal edges extend to the edge of the specimen. This specimen is in surprisingly good condition since brucite scratches with a fingernail and easily deforms when bumped. An antique Bennet C. Wheeler (1784-1866) label accompanies this specimen. This piece was part of the Charles Trantham (1936-2020) estate.