The Mineral CLINOCHLORE

  • Chemistry: (Mg, Fe, Al)6(Si, Al)4O10(OH)8, Magnesium Iron Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide
  • Class: Silicates
  • Subclass: phyllosilicates
  • Groups: The Clays and The Chlorite Group.
  • Uses: As mineral specimens.
  • Specimens
    • See also specimens of Kaemmererite


Clinochlore is one of the more common members of the Chlorite Group of minerals. These minerals are all difficult to differentiate by ordinary means and often the general mineral name chlorite is given to specimens that lack distinguishing characterics. Clinochlore forms from the metamorphic and hydrothermal alterations of other iron and magnesium silicate minerals. Clinochlore gets its name from the Greek words for inclined and green since its structure is monoclinic and its common color is green.

Clinochlore forms a series with the mineral chamosite. Chamosite is the iron rich equivalent of clinochlore. Their properties are only slightly different with chamosite being darker and less transparent than clinochlore. A chromium rich variety of clinochlore is known as kaemmererite and is quite beautiful and wonderfully colored bright lavender to crimson.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Color is usually green to an emerald green but also red, brown, tan, yellow or white.
  • Luster is vitreous to pearly.
  • Transparency: Crystals are translucent to transparent.
  • Crystal System is monoclinic; 2/m.
  • Crystal Habits include pseudohexagonal tabular crystals with tapering pyramidal terminations. Commonly foliated, fibrous, granular, earthy, massive. Twinning is seen on some larger specimens.
  • Cleavage is perfect in one direction, basal.
  • Fracture is uneven.
  • Hardness is 2 - 2.5
  • Specific Gravity is 2.6 - 3.0 (average).
  • Streak is greenish white or white.
  • Other Characteristics: Cleavage flakes are flexible but inelastic.
  • Associated Minerals include pyrite, quartz, dolomite, fluorapatite, gmelinite, rutile, siderite, albite, anatase, calcite, catapleiite, talc, chlorite, sphalerite, serpentine, actinolite, biotite, tainiolite, olivine, plagioclase, chromite and uvarovite.
  • Notable Occurrences including the type locality of West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA as well as The Tilly Foster mine, New York; Pima and Yavapai Counties, Arizona; New Idria district, San Benito County, California and Franklin and Sterling Hill, New Jersey, USA; Tirol, Austria; Val Malenco, Lombardy and Ala, Piedmont, Italy; near Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland; Spain; Shetland Islands, Scotland; Kop Daglari, Erzurum, Turkey; Ural Mountains, Russia and most localities from where chlorite is found.
  • Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, softness, color and cleavage.
CLINOCHLORE specimens:
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CLINOCHLORE specimen cnc-1
$ 68.00
Dims: 4.4x3.1x0.3" (11.2x7.9x0.7 cm)
Wt: 3.0 oz. (87.2g)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
This slab (polished on one side) is a very nice hand specimen of clinochlore. Most of the mineral is in the form of a radial fibrous growth which exhibits a chatoyancy on the polished surface. Towards the center of the specimen, there is an intergrowth of thousands of small crystals (1mm-3mm in length), most of which look like books of foliated crystals. However, some of the crystals are a beautiful, transparent, emerald green which look quite lovely under a loupe. Unfortunately, they are too small to be seen by the naked eye, other than as a green sparkle when the light hits them just right.
no photo
cnc-1 ($ 68.00)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
CLINOCHLORE specimen cnc-3
$ 34.00
Dims: 2.89x2.07x1.12" (7.34x5.26x2.84cm)
Wt: 3.32oz. (94g)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
The clinochlore in this specimen is mostly a light silvery green color, organized in intergrown foliated clusters. There are also patches of purplish-red mineral, whose crystals look exactly the same except for color, and which I believe to be more clinochlore (which would make it the kaemmererite variety). One face of the specimen has been cut flat and polished to a high luster; the remainder is natural fracture surface.
no photo
cnc-3 ($ 34.00)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
CLINOCHLORE specimen cnc-4
$ 28.00
Dims: 1.70x1.15x1.15" (4.33x2.93x2.93cm)
Wt: 1.55oz. (44.0g)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
This clinochlore specimen is mostly composed of light metalic-green crystals in books of foliated crystals. They appear opaque, and there are areas where a radial growth form is visible. Some areas have a reddish tint as a surface coating (perhaps a weathering). One side of the specimen has been polished to a high luster.
no photo
cnc-4 ($ 28.00)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
CLINOCHLORE specimen cnc-5
$ 25.00
Dims: 2.03x1.22x1.01" (5.16x3.09x2.57cm)
Wt: 1.34oz (38.0g)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
This clinochlore specimen, like others from the same locale, consists of silvery-green (and occasionally maroon) foliated crystals intergrown in an opaque mass that has a pearly luster. One side of the specimen has been cut and polished to a high luster, and which reveals (when held to a bright light) that the clinochlore is actually translucent. The images do not properly show the light green color.
no photo
cnc-5 ($ 25.00)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
CLINOCHLORE specimen cnc-2
$ 45.00
Dims mm=64.48x48.29x9.2
Wt g=47.2
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia
This slab is a cross section of a formation of clinochlore in which a core of massive clinochlore is covered with crystals of clinochlore. The crystals are polished and show a layered radial growth habit with layers of different lightness yet all with the same green hue. The crystals are opaque and display a silky luster.
no photo
cnc-2 ($ 45.00)
Korshunovka, Siberia, Russia

 


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