Cafarsite - Encyclopedia
Class : Oxides and hydroxides
Subclass : Arsenites
Crystal system : Cubic
Chemistry : Ca8(Ti,Fe,Mn)6-7(AsO3)12 4H2O
Rarity : Very rare
Cafarsite is an extremely rare arsenate of calcium, manganese and titanium, known mainly in the cracks of metamorphic rocks. It is a mineral which owes its name to its chemical composition (calcium + iron + arsenic). It occurs in cubo-octahedra, octahedra, cubes and pentagonododecahedra, sometimes centimetric, dark brown to red-brown in color, frequently altered.
Main photo : Cafarsite from Monte Cervandone, Italy © Rob Lavinsky
Cafarsite in the World
Twinning
No twin known for this mineral species.
Fakes and treatments
No fake identified for this mineral species.
Hardness : 5.5 to 6
Density : 3.9
Fracture : Conchoidal
Streak : Brown-yellow
TP : Opaque
RI : 2.2
Birefringence : 0
Optical character : None
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None
Solubility : -
Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None