Toturite

toturite

Images

Formula: Ca3Sn2(SiFe3+2)O12
Nesosilicate (insular SiO4 groups), schorlomite group, garnet supergroup, tin-bearing mineral
Crystal System: Isometric
Specific gravity: 4.49 calculated
Streak: White with a cream tint
Colour: Light brown or yellow
Environments

Volcanic igneous environments
Metamorphic environments

Toturite was approved in 2009 but to date (March 2025) has been reported only from the type locality.

Localities

At the type locality, Xenolith no. 3, Lakargi Mountain, Upper Chegem volcanic caldera, Chegemsky District, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, toturite occurs as an accessory mineral in high-temperature altered carbonate-silicate xenoliths in ignimbrite. It forms thin regular growth zones and irregular spots in the Fe3+-dominant analog of kimzeyite.
The association of toturite with larnite, rondorfite, wadalite, magnesioferrite, lakargiite and cuspidine indicates a high temperature of formation, above 800°C (AM 95.1305-1311).
Toturite from the Lakargi Mountain - Image

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