Inesite

Inesite is a hydrous calcium manganese silicate mineral.^[5]  Its chemical formula is Ca₂Mn₇Si₁₀O₂₈(OH)₂•5(H₂O). Inesite is an inosilicate with a triclinic crystal system. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6, and a specific gravity of 3.0. Its name originates from the Greek Ίνες (ines), "fibers" in allusion to its color and habit. ^[3]

Inesite
Inesite Crystals from Fengjishan Mine (Daye Copper Mine), Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China.
General
Category	Inosilicates
Formula (repeating unit)	Ca2Mn7Si10O28(OH)2•5(H2O)
IMA symbol	Ins[1]
Strunz classification	09.DL.05
Dana classification	66.3.3.1
Crystal system	Triclinic
Space group	P1 (no.2)
Identification
Color	Rose red, pink, orange-pink, orange-red-brown
Crystal habit	Massive, fibrous, radial, spherical
Cleavage	Perfect
Fracture	Irregular/Uneven
Tenacity	Brittle
Mohs scale hardness	5.5 - 6
Luster	Vitreous, Silky
Streak	White
Diaphaneity	Translucent
Specific gravity	3.0
Ultraviolet fluorescence	Non-fluorescent
Common impurities	Fe, Al, Mg, K
References	[2][3][4]

Occurrence and distribution

Inesite occurs in hydrothermal replacement deposits of manganese-rich metamorphic rocks and serpentines.^[6]  It was first described in 1887 at Hilfe Gottes Mine, Oberscheld, Dillenburg, Dillenburg District, Hesse, Germany. Outside of the type locality, there are several notable localities of inesite, such as:^[7][8]

• Wessels and N'Chwanning Mines, Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape, South Africa where Inesite is associated with datolite, pectolite, apophyllite, ruizite, orientite and quartz.

• Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

• Långban, Persberg, Värmland, Sweden.

• Kawazu Mine, Shizuoka Prefecture, Chubu Region, Honshu Island, Japan

• Hale Creek Mine, Trinity County, California, USA, where Inesite is associated with Rhodochrosite, bementite, and hausmannite.

• Fengjishan Mine (Daye Copper Mine), Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China.

Inesite Gallery

• 
  Bright red inesite with orange prehnite from N'Chwanning II Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari Manganese Field, North Cape, South Africa
• 
  Inesite from Hale Creek Mine,Trinity County, California, USA
• 
  Inesite with yellow hubeite from Fengjishan Mine (Daye Copper Mine), Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China
• 
  Brown Inesite from Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia
• 
  Inesite on top of orlymanite from Wessels Mine, Hotazel, Kalahari Manganese field, Northern Cape, South Africa

References

1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
2. Dave Barthelmy. "Inesite Mineral Data". webmineral.com. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
3. "Inesite: Mineral information, data and localities". mindat.org. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
4. Wan, C.; Ghose, S. (1978). "Inesite, a hydrated calcium manganese silicate with five-tetrahedral-repeat double chains". American Mineralogist. 63: 563–571.
5. Chesterman, Charles (1978). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks And Minerals. Knopf. p. 592.
6. The Mineral Inesite
7. "Inesite" (PDF). 18 August 2001. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
8. http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM53/AM53_1614.pdf Inesite From the Broken Hill Lode, New South Wales, Australia