Hemleyite

hemleyite

forsterite

clinoenstatite

ferrosilite

Images

Formula: FeSiO3
Inosilicate (chain silicate), ilmenite group, paramorph of clinoferrosilite, ferrosilite and pyroxferroite
Crystal System: Trigonal
Specific gravity: 4.383 calculated
Environments

Chondrite meteorite

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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