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Formula: Bi2O3
Simple oxide, paramorph of
sphaerobismoite,
bismuth-bearing mineral
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 8.64 to 9.22 measured, 10.4 calculated
Hardness: 4½
Streak: Grey to yellow
Colour: Greyish green, greenish yellow to bright yellow
Environments:
Bismite is an oxidation product of various bismuth-bearing minerals.
Associated minerals include
native bismuth, bismutite and
cassiterite
(Webmin, HOM)
Localities
At Kingsgate, Gough county, New South Wales, Australia, bismite is fairly common, occurring as a mixture with
bismutite or koechlinite. It
is occasionally found as pseudomorphs after
bismuthinite
(AJM 10.1.8).
At Blue Hill quarry, Westmoreland county, New South Wales, Australia, bismite and
bismutite
are fairly common as small crystals within vein quartz, associated with
molybdenite and
ferrimolybdite. They also occur as small
pseudomorphs after
bismuthinite
(AJM 10.2.48).
At the type locality, the Colavi mine, Machacamarca mining district, Cornelio Saavedra Province, Potosí, Bolivia,
bismite is an oxidation product of bismuth, associated with
cassiterite
and bismuth
(Mindat).
At Meymac, Correze, France, bismite is associated with bismutite
(Dana).
At Johanngeorgenstadt, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany, bismite, an oxidation product of
native bismuth and other bismuth
minerals, was fairly rare in the oxidation zones of the bismuth -
cobalt - nickel ore veins. It was
massive, with conchoidal fracture, granular and earthy, as encrustations on
gangue quartz and on country rock.
Sometimes it took the original form of earlier bismuth, showing feathery
and leafy habits. The colour ranged from yellowish grey through yellow and grey-green. It was found in the Gnade
Gottes, Gewerken Hoffnung, Bergmännischer Preussen tunnel and many other mines which exploited
bismuth - cobalt -
nickel veins
(MinRec 55.5.588-590).
At Rincon, San Diego county, California, USA, bismite occurs in a pegmatite as microcrystals associated with
bismutite and pucherite
(Dana).
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