Inosilicates Mineral Gallery M&W Minerals

Inosilicates Gallery

Inosilcates are called the chain silicates and are composed of two classes, the single chain and double chain silicates.

The single chain silicates have SiO₄ tetrahedrons which share two oxygens with two other tetrahedrons forming a virtually endless chain. This makes for a ratio of silicon to oxygen of 1:3. The tetrahedrons alternate to the left and to the right of the axis formed by the linked oxygens. More complex chains can form a spiral. In cross section, the chain forms a trapezoid. It is this shape which produces the angles between the faces of the crystals and the directions of cleavage.

The double chain silicates have two single chains which lie next to each other. An oxygen ion links each of the right sided tetrahedrons in the left chain with the left sided tetrahedrons in the right chain. Because there is an extra shared oxygen for every four silicons, the ratio of silicon to oxygen is reduced to 4:11. The double chain is a chain of six sided rings. It has a similar cross section to a single chain, except the trapezoid is longer, which produces a different set of angles.

The cleavage of the chain silicates occurss between the chains; the chains are not broken. This produces a prismatic cleavage. For single chained silicates, the two directions of cleavage are close to 90 degrees which forms almost square cross sections. For double chain silicates, the cleavage angle is close to 120 and 60 degrees which forms rhombic cross sections.

Single chain silicates: Neptunite, Okenite, Pectolite, The Pyroxene group (Aegerine, Augite, Diopside, Spodumne (Kunzite, Hiddenite), Jadeite and others), Rhodonite, Serandite, Shattuckite, and others

Double chain silicates: Amphibole group (Actinolite, Edenite, Cummingtonite, Hornblende, Inesite, Tremolite, Richterite, Glaucophane and others), Astrophyllite, Babingtonite, Charoite, Inesite, Plancheite and others

minerals in alphabetical order by first letter only

click on the title link or photo to proceed to a specimen's page

A

6624 Astrophyllite and Aegerine in Nepheline Syenite Matrix

Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia
Ex. Norm Woods
9.3 x 7.3 x 5.2 cm
$75

4599 Green Quartz (Included Hedenbergite), Hendenbergite, Calcite, Pyrite

Mina San Antonio, East Camp, Santa Eulalia Dist., Mun. de Aquiles Serdan, Chihuahua, Mexico
7.8 x 4.8 x 4.3 cm
$50

E

6029 Elpidite, Manganoan Calcite

Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Rouville RCM, Monteregie, Quebec, Canada
Na₂ZrSi₆O₁₅·3H₂O
4.5 x 4.2 x 4.6 cm
$75

H

6990 Howeite

Laytonville quarry, Mendocino Co., California
Type Location
Na(Fe²⁺,Fe³⁺,Al,Mg)₁₂(Si₆O₁₇)₂(O,OH)₁₀
Ex. Steve Pullman
12.4 x 12.2 x 5.5 cm
$50

6774 Hornblende, Fluorapatite, minor Mica

Gibson Road, Tory Hill, Haliburton Co., Ontario, Canada
14 x 6.7 x 5 cm
$75

2666 Tremolite variety Hexagonite

Balmat-Edwards Zinc District, St Lawrence County, New York, USA
7.6 x 6.4 x 2.3 cm
$25

J

4050 Augite variety Jeffersonite - 3 pieces

Sterling Hill, Ogdensburg, Franklin Mining District, Sussex Co., New Jersey
Ex. Steve Pullman
x x cm
6.7 x 4.1 x 3.3 and 3.7 x 3.6 x 2.3 and 4.2 x 3.2 x 3 cm
$80

K

6557 Kenotobermorite (labeled as Tobermorite)

The aggregate is one of the largest crystals available.
Type Location
[Ca₄Si₆O₁₅(OH)₂·2H₂O]·3H₂O
Ex. Wolfgang Henkel
4 x 1.1 x 0.7 cm
$150

S

3799 Shattuckite Included in Quartz

Kaokoveld Plateau, Kunene Region, Namibia
Cu₅(Si₂O₆)₂(OH)₂
3.2 x 3.1 x 2.8 cm
$45

T

3515 Tremolite

Smoky Tremolite Occurrence, Monmouth Twp., Haliburton Co., Ontario, Canada
8.3 x 4 x 3.2 cm
$65

U

4349 Uralite, Epidote

Calumet Mine, Turret District, Chaffee Co., Colorado, USA
7.8 x 6.5 x 4.5 cm
Epidote XL is 2.7 long and 1.1 cm in width
$40

3339 Uralite and Epidote with Calcite

Calumet Mine, Turret District, Chaffee Co., Colorado, USA
11.5 x 7.5 x 5.5 cm
Largest XL 7 x 3 x 1 mm
$30

Specimens which have this class of minerals as an associated mineral

6957 Aegerine with minor Astrophyllite in Nepheline Syenite Matrix Barkevikskjaer, Langesundsfjorden, Larvik, Vestfold og Telemark, Norway Type Location (K,Na,Ca)_7.5(Mn,Mg)₄₉ Si₇₂O₁₆₈(OH)₅₀·nH₂O Ex. Steve Pullman 5.1 x 3.5 x 2.2 cm $25	6776 Agrellite, Eudialyte, Albite, Calcium Kipawa alkaline complex, Les Lacs-du-Temiscamingue, Temiscamingue RCM, Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Quebec, Canada Type Location Ex. Roy Virtue 9 x 6.2 x 4.6 cm $75	6744 Dioptase, Plancheite Bonanza Mine (Harquahala Mine), Martin Peak, Salome, La Paz County, Arizona Ex. Steve Pullman 6 x 3.8 x 3.2 cm $50
6934 Chromium Grossular Garnet, Calcite, Diopside, Chromite Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos, Les Sources RCM, Estrie, Quebec, Canada 1960s 11.1 x 7.6 x 5 cm $45	6977 Hubeite (TL) and Inesite on Quartz Fengjiashan Mine, Daye Co., Huangshi, Hubei, China Type Location Ca₂Mn²⁺Fe³⁺Si₄O₁₂(OH)·2H₂O Ex. S. Pullman 8 x 4.9 x 5.8 cm $50	6743 llvaite, Quartz, Hedenbergite Laxey Mine, Ex. Steve Pullman 3.6 x 2.6 x 2.4 cm $45
6371 Ilvaite, Arsenopyrite, Hedenbergite, Tremolite Huanggang Mine, Inner Mongolia, China 6.3 x 5.6 x 4.6 cm $100	6064 Ilvaite coated with Hedenbergite, Arsenopyrite Huanggang Mine, Inner Mongolia, China 4.5 x 3.8 x 3.2 cm $35	4096 Blue Quartz, Magnesio-Riebeckite Grubach, Golling, Salzburg, Austria 1 cm grid on 3rd picture $45
6924 Rhodochrosite, Elpidite, Leifite, Calcite, Albite Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Rouville RCM, Monteregie, Quebec, Canada Elpidite - Na₂ZrSi₆O₁₅·3H₂O, Leifite - Na₇Be₂(Si₁₅Al₃)O₃₉(F,OH)₂ 5.2 x 5.8 x 4.4 cm largest rhodochrosite crystals is 5 mm on longest edge $75	6038 Rhodochrosite, Elpidite, Leifite, Calcite, Albite Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Rouville RCM, Monteregie, Quebec, Canada Elpidite - Na₂ZrSi₆O₁₅·3H₂O, Leifite - Na₇Be₂(Si₁₅Al₃)O₃₉(F,OH)₂ 5.1 x 4.4 x 4.4 cm $150	5192 Sodalite Crystals, Hornblende Monte Somma, Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples Province, Campania, Italy Ex. University of Michigan - 1933, Ex. Cureton Mineral Co., Ex. Southwest Mineral Co., Ex. Carnegie Museum - White collection 5.7 x 4.7 x 3.8 cm $50
4220 Rubellite Tourmaline, Spodumene, Quartz Haapaluoma pegmatite, Peraseinajoki, Seinajoki, Finland Ex.H. R. McBroom, from a trade with Karl Alasaprela in 1977 8.2 x 6.3 x 3.6 cm $85

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Specimens which have this class of minerals as an associated mineral

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