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Formula: FeSiO3
Inosilicate (chain silicate), ilmenite group,
paramorph of
clinoferrosilite,
ferrosilite and
pyroxferroite
Crystal System: Trigonal
Specific gravity: 4.383 calculated
Environments
Hemleyite was approved as a mineral species in 2016, and to date (August 2023) has been reported only from
the type locality.
Localities
At the type locality, the Suizhou meteorite, Xihe, Zengdu District, Suizhou, Hubei, China, one subhedral
crystal of hemleyite, about 7 × 6 × 5 μm in size, has been found, coexisting with
forsterite, clinoenstatite
and Fe-bearing pyroxene with a composition nearly identical to that of
hemleyite. It is a high-pressure phase, discovered in an unmelted portion of the heavily shocked meteorite
that was exposed to high pressures (<20 GPa) and temperatures (<2000 °C) during impact-induced shocks. This indicates
that hemleyite could play a crucial role at the bottom of the Earth’s mantle transition zone and within the
uppermost lower mantle
(https://www.nature.com/articles/srep42674.pdf).
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