Fuchsite - Encyclopedia
Class : Silicates
Subclass : Phyllosilicates
Crystal system : Monoclinic
Chemistry : KAl2(Si3Al)O10(OH,F)2
Rarity : Rare
Fuchsite is a chrome variety of muscovite, characterized by a beautiful green color. Muscovite has the very characteristic habit of fine strips that are easy to cut with a nail. Fuchsite is the muscovite of ultrabasites, rocks in which chromium is abundant and easily mobilized. It was named in honor of the German mineralogist J. N. von Fuchs. Quartzites with disseminated flakes of fuchsite are rocks with a very aesthetic appearance used for the manufacture of art objects in Guatemala and as ornamental stone in Brazil.
Main photo : Fuchsite from Minas Gerais Brazil © Shann Whynot-Young
Fuchsite in the World
Twinning
No twin known for this mineral species.
Fakes and treatments
No fakes recorded for this mineral species.
Hardness : 2.5
Density : 2.7 to 2.8
Fracture : Micaceous
Streak : Green to brown
TP : Translucent to transparent
RI : 1.552 to 1.618
Birefringence : 0.035 to 0.042
Optical character : Biaxial -
Pleochroism : Visible
Fluorescence : None
Solubility : Insoluble
Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None