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Dominant species
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Babingtonite
Babingtonite
Chemical
Formula
Ca2(Fe,Mn)FeSi5O14(OH)
Species
Silicates
Crystal
System
Triclinic
Mohs
Scale
5-6
Specific
Gravity
3.3
Color
Dark green to black
Luster
Vitreous
Refractive
Index
n = 1.700 n = 1.710 n = 1.725
Diaphaneity
Opaque
Cleavage
PerfectPerfect on Good on and
Fracture
Irregular/Uneven
Crystal Habit:Prismatic crystals
Geological Setting:Veins cutting granitic pegmatites and diorites, cavities and vugs in mafic volcanic rocks and gneisses, skarns.
Babingtonite is a calcium iron manganese inosilicate mineral with the formula Ca2(Fe,Mn)FeSi5O14(OH). It is unusual in that iron(III) completely replaces the aluminium so typical of silicate minerals. It is a very dark green to black translucent (in thin crystals or splinters) mineral crystallizing in the triclinic system with typically radial short prismatic clusters and druzy coatings. It occurs with zeolite minerals in cavities in volcanic rocks. Babingtonite contains both iron(II) and iron(III) and shows weak magnetism. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6 and a specific gravity of 3.3.

It was first described in 1824 from samples from Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway (which is its type locality) and was named after the Irish physician and mineralogist William Babington (1757–1833).

It is the official mineral (mineral emblem) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.