My watch list
my.chemeurope.com  
Login  

Chiastolite



 

The mineral chiastolite is a variety of andalusite with the chemical composition Al2SiO5. It is noted for distinctive cross-shaped black inclusions of graphite. In areas around Georgetown, California, metamorphosed sediments contained andalusite and chiastolite in a graphite rich metasediment. The chiastolite crystals have been pseudomorphically altered by a mixture of muscovite, paragonite and margarite. The calcium rich margarite tends to form along the graphite rich crosses or bands within the chiastolite. Mineralogically the occurrence is important because all three white mica phases are present in an equilibrium assemblage.

References

  • Mindat with location data
  • Margarite pseudomorphs after chiastolite in the Georgetown area, California, Am. Mineralogist 1979 PDF
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Chiastolite". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
Your browser is not current. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 does not support some functions on Chemie.DE