Clinochlore
A variety of Chlorite Group
What is Clinochlore?
Clinochlore occurs in an attractive range of transparent and translucent dark greens. The fracture is uneven and the streak is white. No fluorescence is observed. Like other members of the Chlorite group, this mineral is pretty soft and has been used for carving and as decoration for hundreds of years.
Uses & Applications
Clinochlore has several varieties, but only the varieties called Kammerite and Sheridanite are used as gemstones. Kammererite is especially popular collector's mineral, cherished for its crimson pink to purple coloration, but it is quite rare. Also, Seraphinite is a trade name for clinochlore polished for feathery-like reflectance and used as a minor gemstone.
Healing Properties
Clinochlore is a high-energy stone that is believed to heal the mind, body, and spirit. It can be used during meditation or worn for constant healing and positive energy flow. It represents a sense of balance and harmony to the entire self. Clinochlore stimulates all of the chakras and is believed to provide communication and understanding of the spiritual world,
Optical Properties
- Refractive Index
- 1.571-1.597
- Pleochroism
- Distinct: light yellow-green to light blue-green, light greenish yellow to light blue-green
- Optical Character
- Biaxial positive or negative
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Associated Chakras
Key Characteristics
Formation of Clinochlore
Chlorite is commonly found in igneous rocks as an alteration product of mafic minerals such as pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. In this environment chlorite may be a retrograde metamorphic alteration mineral of existing ferromagnesian minerals, or it may be present as a metasomatism product via addition of Fe, Mg, or other compounds into the rock mass. Chlorite is a common mineral associated with hydrothermal ore deposits and commonly occurs with epidote, sericite, adularia and sulfide minerals. Chlorite is also a common metamorphic mineral, usually indicative of low-grade metamorphism. It is the diagnostic species of the zeolite facies and of lower greenschist facies. It occurs in the quartz, albite, sericite, chlorite, garnet assemblage of pelitic schist. Within ultramafic rocks, metamorphism can also produce predominantly clinochlore chlorite in association with talc. Experiments indicate that chlorite can be stable in peridotite of the Earth's mantle above the ocean lithosphere carried down by subduction, and chlorite may even be present in the mantle volume from which island arc magmas are generated. Chlorite occurs naturally in a variety of locations and forms. For example, chlorite is found naturally in certain parts of Wales in mineral schists. Chlorite is found in large boulders scattered on the ground surface on Ring Mountain in Marin County, California.
Composition of Clinochlore
The typical general formula is: (Mg,Fe)3(Si,Al)4O10(OH)2·(Mg,Fe)3(OH)6. This formula emphasizes the structure of the group. Chlorites have a 2:1 sandwich structure (2:1 sandwich layer = tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral = t-o-t...), this is often referred to as a talc layer. Unlike other 2:1 clay minerals, a chlorite's interlayer space (the space between each 2:1 sandwich filled by a cation) is composed of (Mg, Fe)(OH)6. This (Mg, Fe)(OH)6 unit is more commonly referred to as the brucite-like layer, due to its closer resemblance to the mineral brucite (Mg(OH)2). Therefore, chlorite's structure appears as follows: -t-o-t-brucite-t-o-t-brucite ... That's why they are also called 2:1:1 minerals. An older classification divided the chlorites into two subgroups: the orthochlorites and leptochlorites. The terms are seldom used and the ortho prefix is somewhat misleading as the chlorite crystal system is monoclinic and not orthorhombic.
Quick Facts
Physical Properties
- Color
- Green, yellowish green, olive green, blackish green, bluish green, white, pink
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 2 - 2.5
- Density
- 2.628 g/cm³
- Streak
- Greenish white to white
- Luster
- Pearly, Greasy, Dull
- Crystal System
- Monoclinic
Chemical Properties
- Chemical Formula
- Mg5Al(AlSi3O10)(OH)8
- Elements
- Al, H, Mg, O, Si
Also Known As
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