{"title":"Brucite","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrucite\u003c\/strong\u003e is a magnesium hydroxide mineral, Mg(OH)₂, and the namesake of the \u003cstrong\u003ebrucite group\u003c\/strong\u003e, which also includes \u003cstrong\u003epyrochroite\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eportlandite\u003c\/strong\u003e. It crystallizes in the hexagonal system, typically forming tabular to platy crystals with a pearly, waxy luster on the basal cleavage, a hardness of only 2.5–3, and a sectile, foliated habit reminiscent of mica or gypsum. Colors range from colorless and white to pale green, blue, yellow, and brown, depending on trace iron or manganese substitution; a fibrous, asbestos-like variety known as \u003cstrong\u003enemalite\u003c\/strong\u003e is also recognized. \u003cstrong\u003eBrucite\u003c\/strong\u003e forms in low-temperature metamorphic environments, chiefly in serpentinized dolomites, altered peridotites, and chlorite-talc schists, commonly alongside \u003cstrong\u003ecalcite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eserpentine\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003echrysotile\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003emagnesite\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003ehydromagnesite\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe species was named in 1824 after American mineralogist Archibald Bruce, and its type locality is \u003cstrong\u003eCastle Point, Hoboken\u003c\/strong\u003e, in Hudson County, New Jersey, where it was first found in serpentinite. The most celebrated classic source, however, is the \u003cstrong\u003eWood's Chrome Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e at Texas, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which produced some of the largest and finest \u003cstrong\u003ebrucite\u003c\/strong\u003e crystals ever found — golden, translucent plates historically traded under the local name \"texalite\" — with additional fine material from the nearby \u003cstrong\u003eCedar Hill Quarry\u003c\/strong\u003e. Other important North American localities include the \u003cstrong\u003eSierra Magnesite Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e at Gabbs, Nevada, the \u003cstrong\u003eTilly Foster Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e in Brewster, New York, \u003cstrong\u003eCrestmore Quarry\u003c\/strong\u003e in California, and the \u003cstrong\u003eMaxwell Quarry\u003c\/strong\u003e at Wakefield, Quebec, while the Asbestos (Val-des-Sources) district in Quebec has yielded long fibrous nemalite masses and cuttable pale blue material. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExceptional specimens continue to emerge from the \u003cstrong\u003eKilla Saifullah District\u003c\/strong\u003e in Balochistan, Pakistan, now among the world's finest modern sources of large, gemmy, transparent \u003cstrong\u003ebrucite\u003c\/strong\u003e plates, alongside notable finds from \u003cstrong\u003eN'Chwaning II Mine\u003c\/strong\u003e in South Africa's Kalahari Manganese Field, where brucite is prized in combination with calcite, and from \u003cstrong\u003eTsumeb\u003c\/strong\u003e, Namibia, known for delicate pale green crystals. Italian collectors also recognize occurrences such as the \u003cstrong\u003eVal di Serra Quarry\u003c\/strong\u003e near Ala in Trentino-Alto Adige. Because well-formed, transparent \u003cstrong\u003ebrucite\u003c\/strong\u003e crystals are genuinely uncommon compared to its massive and fibrous forms, sharp, lustrous plates from these historic and modern localities remain highly sought after by systematic mineral collectors and serve as a minor ore of magnesium and industrial source of magnesia.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/www.italmineral.com\/collections\/brucite.oembed","provider":"ITALMINERAL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}