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Desautelsite

Paul Ernest Desautels is the namesake of this mineral as the former Curator of Mineralogy at the National Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., USA. Desautelsite is a rare mineral that occurs only in the United States in localities in California, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and in Japan at Kohnomori in Kochi City on Shikoku Island. It occurs as an abundant mineral in fractures in serpentinite breccias with other secondary magnesium minerals in its California localities, and in ultramafic rocks in faults through sediments in Japan.
Ref. Handbook of Mineralogy, Anthony et al (1995) and MSA at http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/desautelsite.pdf
- Formula
- Mg6Mn3+2CO3(OH)16ยท4H2O
- Crystal System
- Trigonal
- Crystal Habit
- Euhedral Crystals, Pseudo Hexagonal
- Cleavage
- Perfect, None, None
- Luster
- Pearly
- Color
- bright orange
- Streak
- light orange
- Class
- Trigonal
- Hardness
- 2
- WebMineral
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Desautelsite from Artinite pit, Clear Creek, San Benito Co., California, United States

Fine bright orange crust of Desautelsite composed of thin platy crystals to less than 0.2mm. Desautelsite is the trivalent Manganese analogue of more common Pyroaurite. It is a hydrotalcite and a carbonate with thin, microscopic platy crystals