{"title":"Lizardite","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLizardite\u003c\/strong\u003e is a magnesium phyllosilicate, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4, and the most abundant member of the \u003cstrong\u003eserpentine group\u003c\/strong\u003e, alongside \u003cstrong\u003echrysotile\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eantigorite\u003c\/strong\u003e. First described in 1956 from Cornwall's \u003cstrong\u003eLizard Peninsula\u003c\/strong\u003e, England — its type locality and namesake — lizardite forms through retrograde metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration of olivine, enstatite and other ferromagnesian silicates in ultramafic rocks, typically intergrown with \u003cstrong\u003ebrucite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003emagnetite\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003echromite\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003etalc\u003c\/strong\u003e within \u003cstrong\u003eserpentinite\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eophiolite\u003c\/strong\u003e bodies. It crystallizes as fine-grained, platy or foliated masses rather than large individual crystals, usually in shades of green, olive, yellow-green or near-white, with a distinctive waxy to greasy, soapy-feeling luster. Pseudomorphs after \u003cstrong\u003eenstatite\u003c\/strong\u003e, olivine or pyroxene — known as \u003cstrong\u003ebastite\u003c\/strong\u003e — are a particularly sought-after collector habit, showcasing the mineral's replacement textures at a glance. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe type locality at \u003cstrong\u003eKennack Cove\u003c\/strong\u003e on the Lizard Peninsula remains the benchmark for well-documented lizardite, with additional classic British material recorded on \u003cstrong\u003eUnst\u003c\/strong\u003e in Scotland's Shetland Islands and at \u003cstrong\u003eHoly Island, Anglesey\u003c\/strong\u003e in Wales, where it replaces primary olivine and orthopyroxene in serpentinized peridotite. Fine crystallographic reference material comes from \u003cstrong\u003eElba, Italy\u003c\/strong\u003e, and from northern Apennine ophiolites near Modena, while Italian specimens are also documented from the \u003cstrong\u003eSissone Valley\u003c\/strong\u003e in Valmalenco, Sondrio, and the Val Munari area near Vicenza. Norway contributes notable pieces from the \u003cstrong\u003eDypingdal serpentine-magnesite deposit\u003c\/strong\u003e near Modum, sometimes showing lizardite alongside hematite and hydrotalcite. In the United States, lizardite occurs along the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, within the \u003cstrong\u003eStillwater Complex\u003c\/strong\u003e of Montana, and at Nottingham County Park in Pennsylvania, where it is the dominant serpentine species. A single specimen has even been documented from altered pegmatite at \u003cstrong\u003eMont Saint-Hilaire\u003c\/strong\u003e, Quebec. South Africa's \u003cstrong\u003eWessels mine\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eFrank Smith mine\u003c\/strong\u003e in the Kalahari Manganese Field are notable for striking orange lizardite, a gemological curiosity prized well beyond typical serpentine green. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCollectors value lizardite both for its geological storytelling — it records the serpentinization of oceanic and mantle rock, a process linked to hydrogen generation and even deep-subsurface microbial ecosystems — and for the visual variety it offers, from soft bastite pseudomorphs to polished serpentine masses and rare orange or near-white colorations. Because it can form a solid-solution series with the nickel-bearing \u003cstrong\u003enépouite\u003c\/strong\u003e, and shares its formula with the polymorphs \u003cstrong\u003echrysotile\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eantigorite\u003c\/strong\u003e, lizardite is also a favorite reference species for mineralogists studying serpentine polytypism, alongside associated minerals like magnesite, dolomite and hydrotalcite found in the same serpentinite assemblages.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/www.italmineral.com\/collections\/lizardite.oembed","provider":"ITALMINERAL","version":"1.0","type":"link"}