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Formula: (Ca,Na)2(Fe2+,Mn)(Sc,Fe3+)Si5O14(OH)
Inosilicate (chain silicate), single chains, scandium-bearing mineral
Crystal system: Triclinic
Specific gravity: 3.24 measured, the calculated value for the pure Sc and Fe3+ end-members is 3.22 and
3.29 respectively.
Hardness: 6
Colour: Colourless, pale grey-green, light green, dark green
Environments
Localities
At the type locality, the Seula mine, Mount Camoscio, Oltrefiume, Baveno, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Province, Piedmont,
Italy, scandiobabingtonite was found in the granite quarry
within a 10 x 10 x 20 cm3 cavity, associated with snow-like
orthoclase crystals,
smoky quartz, light sky-blue albite,
stilbite, fluorite and light
green-yellow rosettes of mica (probably
zinnwaldite) on which scandiobabingtonite crystals were
emplanted. Platy crystals of scandiobabingtonite were also found in epitaxial intergrowth as a thin rim
around green-black prismatic crystals of babingtonite.
Scandiobabingtonite is transparent, with vitreous lustre and pale grey-green colour; it occurs as
submillimeter-sized, short, prismatic crystals. Two small crystals used in the optical and chemical study showed a
very small black core and a large grey-green transparent rim. It appears that the two crystals of
scandiobabingtonite grew starting from a green seed crystal of
babingtonite.
Babingtonite, normally associated with minute lamellar crystals of
hematite, is a common mineral in the
pegmatitic cavities of the Baveno
granite. The light grey-green colour of
scandiobabingtonite is, however, easily distinguishable from the dark greenish-black colour of
babingtonite
(AM 83.11.1330-1334).
Scandiobabingtonite from the Seula Mine -
Image
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