Sassite

sassite

mullite

osbornite

baddeleyite

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Formula: Ti³⁺₂Ti⁴⁺O₅
Oxide of titanium, pseudobrookite group, orthorhombic paramorph of monoclinic kaitianite
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 3.81 calculated
Colour: Brown
Environments

Derived from the upper mantle

Sassite is a new mineral, approved in 2022 and to date (January 2024) reported only from the type locality.

Localities

At the type locality, Mount Carmel, Haifa District, Israel, sassite occurs as subhedral to euhedral crystals, about 4 to 16 μm in size, with titanium, aluminium, zirconium - oxide, mullite, osbornite, baddeleyite, alabandite and glass, in a corundum grain. It is a high-temperature phase, formed in melt pockets in corundum xenocrysts derived from the upper mantle beneath Mount Carmel (MDPI Materials 16(24) 7578).

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