Nesquehonite Mineral Data

General Nesquehonite Information

Chemical Formula:

Mg(HCO3)(OH)•2(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 138.36 gm

Magnesium 17.57 % Mg 29.13 % MgO

Hydrogen 4.37 % H 39.06 % H₂O

Carbon 8.68 % C 31.81 % CO₂

Oxygen 69.38 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Mg(HCO₃)(OH)•2(H₂O)

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1890

Locality:

Coal mine at Nesquehoning, Carbon Co., Pennsylvania, USA. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named after its locality.

Name Pronunciation:

Nesquehonite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 2758

PDF 20-669

Nesquehonite Image

Images:

Nesquehonite

Comments: Scanning electron micrographs of nesquehonite clusters showing the typical elongated habit. (AmMin, 88:1882).
Location: Crystals associated with the remains of a saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea from south and west central Arizona. Scale: Scale Bar 50 µ-m (lower left).
© American Mineralogist

Nesquehonite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =2.2263:1:1.4248

Cell Dimensions:

a = 12, b = 5.39, c = 7.68, Z = 4; beta = 90.45° V = 496.73 Den(Calc)= 1.85

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - PrismaticH-M Symbol (2/m) Space Group: P 2₁/n

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 6.5(1), 3.86(0.9), 2.61(0.7),

Forms:

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Forms: ( 0 1 0) ( 1 1 0) ( 0 1 2) ( 0 0 1)

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Crystal Structure:

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Stephan G W , MacGillavry C H , Acta Crystallographica, Section B , 28 (1972) p.1031-1033, The crystal structure of nesquehonite, MgCO3*3H2O, Locality: synthetic

Physical Properties of Nesquehonite

Cleavage:

{110} Perfect, {001} Imperfect

Color:

Colorless, White.

Density:

1.83 - 1.85, Average = 1.84

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to translucent

Fracture:

Splintery - Thin, elongated fractures produced by intersecting good cleavages or partings (e.g. hornblende).

Habit:

Prismatic - Crystals Shaped like Slender Prisms (e.g. tourmaline).

Habit:

Radial - Crystals radiate from a center without producing stellar forms (e.g. stibnite)

Hardness:

2.5 - Finger Nail

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Vitreous - Dull

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Nesquehonite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.01 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.004 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2593,KPDmeas= 0.2607,KC= 0.2582
Ncalc = 1.47 - 1.48

Optical Data:

Biaxial (-), a=1.412, b=1.501, g=1.526, bire=0.1140

Calculated Properties of Nesquehonite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=1.93 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Nesquehonite =1.85 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.01
Boson Index = 0.99

Photoelectric:

PE_Nesquehonite= 0.63 barns/electron
U=PE_Nesquehonite x rElectron Density= 1.21 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Nesquehonite is Not Radioactive

Nesquehonite Classification

Dana Class:

13.01.05.01 (13)Acid Carbonates

(13.01)with miscellaneous formulae

(13.01.05)Dana Group

13.01.05.01 Nesquehonite Mg(HCO3)(OH)•2(H2O) P 2₁/n 2/m

Strunz Class:

05.CA.05 05 - CARBONATES (NITRATES)

05.C - Carbonates without Additional Anions, with H2O

05.CA -With medium-sized cations

05.CA.05 Nesquehonite Mg(HCO3)(OH)•2(H2O) P 2₁/n 2/m

Other Nesquehonite Information

References:

NAME( Ford32) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Ford32)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Nesquehonite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Ask about Nesquehonite here :
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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Nesquehonite Specimen Label here :

Nesquehonite

Mg(HCO3)(OH)•2(H2O)
Dana No: 13.01.05.01 Strunz No: 05.CA.05
Locality:

Notes: