MINERALS INDEX

Actinolite

Albite

Allactite

Allanite

Amphibole Group

Andradite

Anglesite

Anhydrite

Anorthite

Apatite

ApatiteGroup

Apophyllite

Aragonite

Arsenates

Arsenides

Arseniosiderite

Arsenopyrite

Aurichalcite

Axinite

Azurite

Barite

Barylite

Barysilite

Bementite

Biotite

Borates

Bornite

Boroarsenates

Bustamite

Cahnite

Calamine

Calcite

Calcium larsenite

Carbonates

Celestite

Cerusite

Chalcocite

Chalcophanite

Chalcopyrite

Chloanthite

Chlorite

Chlorophoenicite

Chondrodite

Chysolite Group

Clinohedrite

Copper

Corundum

Corundum Group

Crocidolite

Cummingtonite

Cuprite

Cuspidine

Cyprine

Datolite

Desaulesite

Descloizite

Diopside

Dolomite

Edenite

Epidote

EpidoteGroup

FeldsparGroup

Ferroaxinite

Ferroschallerite

Fluoborite

Fluorite

Franklinite

Friedelite

Friedelite Group

Gageite

Gahnite

Galena

Ganophyllite

Garnet

Glaucochroite

Goethite

Graphite

Greenockite

Gypsum

Halloysite

Haloids

Hancockite

Hardystonite

Hastingsite

Hedyphane

Hematite

Hetaerolite

Heulandite

Hodgkinsonite

Holdenite

Humite Group

Hyalophane

Hydrohetaerolite

Hydrozincite

Ilmenite

Jeffersonite

Kentrolite

Larsenite

Lead

Leucaugite

Leucophoenicite

Limonite

Lollingite

Loseyite

Magnesium- chlorophoenicite

Magnetite

Malachite

Manganbrucite

Manganite

Manganosite

Marcasite

Margarosanite

Mcgovernite

Mica Group

Microcline

Millerite

Molybdenite

Mooreite

Muscovite

Nasonite

Native Elements

Neotocite

Niccolite

Norbergite

Oxides

Pargasite

Pectolite

Phlogopite

Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates

Prehnite

Psilomelane

Pyrite

Pyrochroite

Pyroxene Group

Pyrrhotite

Quartz

Rhodochrosite

Rhodonite

Roeblingite

Roepperite

Rutile

Scapolite

Schallerite

Schefferite

Serpentine

Serpentine Group

Siderite

Silicates

Silver

Smithsonite

Sphalerite

Spinel

Spinel Group

Stilbite

Sulphates

Sulphides and Arsenides

Sussexite

Svabite

Talc

Tennantite

Tephroite

Thomsonite

Thorite

Titanite

Tourmaline

Tremolite and Actinolite

Unconfirmed Species

Vanadates

Vesuvianite

Willemite

Xonotlite

Zeolites

Zinc schefferite

Zincite

Zircon

Zoisite

 

Gageite

4(Mn,Mg,Zn)(OH)2.6(Mn,Mg,Zn)2SiO4.3H2O
Orthorhombic

Character
Gageite forms minute colorless or pink needles or laths with a high vitreous luster, grouped radially, in bundles, or matted together. It appears to be orthorhombic and is optically negative; 2V moderate; r < v (extreme) Z parallel to the fibers. Lying on the chief crystal face, which is probably the unit prism, the laths show the emergence of X on the edge of the field; a = 1.723, b = 1.734, g = 1.736, all ±0.003 (Larsen). The specific gravity is 3.584.

Composition
Gageite is a hydrous silicate of manganese, zinc, and magnesium. The molecular ratio of RO : SiO2 : H2O is 16 : 6 : 7, from which is derived the formula given above. The mineral was believed by Phillips (196) to be chemically akin to leucophoenicite.

Analyses of gageite
 

1

2

3

SiO2

24.71

23.58

0.392 = 6 x 0.065
MnO

50.19

53.74

0.758*  
MgO

11.91

9.95

0.247* 1.053 = 16 x 0.066
ZnO

8.86

3.96

0.049*  
FeO  

0.03

   
Al2O3  

0.15

   
H2O

4.43a

8.24

0.457 = 7 x 0.065
 

100.00

99.65

   
[* figures reflected in the value 1.053 shown.]
a Water determined by difference.
1. R. B. Gage (196), analyst.
2. L. H. Bauer (257), analyst.
3. Molecular ratios of no. 2.

Before the blowpipe the clear crystals assume at once a light-bronze color that darkens on further heating to deep bronze or nearly black, but they do not fuse. In the closed tube they yield water with the change of color. They dissolve at once in warm dilute nitric acid.

Occurrence
Gageite, named after R. B. Gage, of Trenton, N.J., and first described in a preliminary paper by Phillips (197), was found, associated with zincite, willemite, calcite, and leucophoenicite, in specimens from the Parker shaft. The crystals are described as showing faces under the microscope, but none were measured and no optical data were given.

The best-defined specimens of gageite known to the author are those described at length under pyrochroite (see page 50), which contain distinct crystals with square cross sections but no measurable faces. Their optical characters, determined by Larsen, established their identity with type material studied by him. It has also been determined by optical methods as constituting coatings of silky fibrous appearance and bronze color in cracks in massive ore from the Franklin mines, but sufficient material for a confirmatory analysis has not been found.

In recent years gageite has been found abundantly at Franklin, especially associated with the arsenate chlorophoenicite. It forms pale-pinkish, fibrous aggregates and seems to be a replacement product or a pseudomorph after some unidentified mineral. One specimen, supplied by Captain Rowe, contained sufficient material in a pure state to furnish a gram sample, of which an analysis was made. As Gage's original analysis was made on a very small sample, the confirmation of the composition of the mineral by the new analysis was gratifying.

 


 
Website © by Herb Yeates 1997-2001.
 
 
This page created: January 12, 2001 6:18 PM