| Artinite | |
| Category: | Carbonate mineral |
| Imasymbol: | Art[1] |
| Strunz: | 5.DA.10 |
| System: | Monoclinic |
| Class: | Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) |
| Symmetry: | C2/m |
| Unit Cell: | a = 16.56, b = 3.15 c = 6.22 [Å]; β = 99.15°; Z = 2 |
| Color: | White |
| Habit: | Acicular crystals, fibrous veinlets, botryoidal crusts, and spherical aggregates |
| Cleavage: | On perfect; on good. |
| Mohs: | 2.5 |
| Luster: | Vitreous, silky |
| Streak: | White |
| Diaphaneity: | Transparent |
| Gravity: | 2.01 – 2.03 |
| Opticalprop: | Biaxial (−) |
| Refractive: | nα = 1.488 – 1.489 nβ = 1.533 – 1.534 nγ = 1.556 – 1.557 |
| Birefringence: | δ = 0.068 |
| References: | [2] [3] [4] |
Artinite is a hydrated basic magnesium carbonate mineral with formula: . It forms white silky monoclinic prismatic crystals that are often in radial arrays or encrustations. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 and a specific gravity of 2.
It occurs in low-temperature hydrothermal veins and in serpentinized ultramafic rocks. Associated minerals include brucite, hydromagnesite, pyroaurite, chrysotile, aragonite, calcite, dolomite and magnesite.[2]
It was first reported in 1902 in Lombardy, Italy. It was named for Italian mineralogist, Ettore Artini (1866–1928).[3]