Apuanite - Encyclopedia
Class : Oxides and hydroxides
Subclass : Oxides
Crystal System : Tetragonal
Chemistry : Fe5Sb4O12S
Rarity : Very rare
Apuanite is a very rare complex oxide of iron and antimony. It owes its name to its locality of discovery : where it is only known in the baryte veinlets which crosscut the metasomatic iron deposit of Buca Della Vena (Tuscany, Italy). It then forms rare small prismatic or thick tabular crystals and massive aggregates, black in color.
Main photo : Apuanite from Buca Della Vena, Tuscany, Italy - © Enrico Bonacina
Apuanite in the World
Apuanite is found only in Buca Della Vena (Italy) in small millimetric crystals.
Right photo : Apuanite from Buca Della Vena, Tuscany, Italy - © Stefano Magnanelli
Twinning
No known twins for this mineral species.
Fakes and treatments
No fake identified for this mineral species.
Hardness : 4-5
Density : 5.33
Fracture : Irregular
Trace : Black
TP : Opaque
RI : None
Birefringence : None
Optical character : None
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None
Solubility : -
Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None