mineral specimens
rare minerals
mineral dealer
systematic minerals
Black Hills minerals
fine minerals
mineral dealer
Dana minerals
IMA minerals
mineral collections
rock and minerals
gem crystal
0 item @ $0.00  

Vermiculite

#PD34687

Vermiculite

#PD34687
Availability
Sold
Size
8 x 6 x 1 cm - Sm Cabinet 
Formula
Mg0.7(Mg,Fe3+,Al)6(Si,Al)8O20(OH)4·8H2O (RRUFF)
Locality
Iron mine, Kovdor Massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia

Phyllosilicate - Monoclinic - Not a Mica group member. But is micaceous. A member of the Montmorillonite-Vrmiculate group with 2:1 layering, meaning there are two (T) tetrahedral layers with an (M) octahedral layer in between. There is no (I) interlayer and the 2:1 layers are instead held together by weak Van der Waals bonds.

Requires Biotite, Chlorite, Hornbelnd and Serpentines to form. Vermiculite contains so much water it will exfoliate when burned.

This is a nice cleavage plate.

More on rare mica minerals

Vermiculite

Formula
Mg0.7(Mg,Fe3+,Al)6(Si,Al)8O20(OH)4·8H2
Crystal System
Monoclinic 
Crystal Habit
Lamellar, Scaly 
Cleavage
Perfect, None, None 
Luster
Vitreous - Dull 
Color
colorless, green, gray white, yellow brown 
Streak
greenish white 
Class
Monoclinic - Prismatic 
Fracture
Uneven 
Hardness
1.5-2 

Data courtesy of Webmineral.

Collection
Phillips Collection

All photos by Dakota Matrix and are Copyrighted © and may not be used without permission. Copyright © 2025 - Dakota Matrix Minerals, Inc. Privacy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map