Serpentine

Serpentine

     Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide (Mg₃[Si₂O₅](OH)₄)
     Serpentine - the Russian name is "zmeevik". Name: serpentine - from latin "serpens", the snake (a surface of units frequently smooth and brilliant, as a snake skin).
     Singony: monoclinic or rhombic.
     Color: white, yellowish, more often green (from light up to dark, almost black), because of an impurity of iron.
     Shine: glass, fat, dim up to silky at fibrous differences.
     Break: from equal up to like-shell.
     Cleavage: rather perfect, but it is observed only at rare large slabs allocations (~5 mm in a diameter).
     Hardness: 2.5 - 3.5 on Mohs scale.
     Origin is the hydrothermal: serpentines - products of hydrothermal metamorphizm (serpentenize) of ultra basic and any basic ores or dolomite. Any filtering underground waters which contain carbonic acid, underground or ascending from the magmatic center - transform olivine and ortopyroxene into serpentine.
     Group of serpentine include five mineral kinds: antigorite (Mg, Fe²⁺)₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄; chrizotile (clinochrizotile, ortochrizotile, parachrizotile) Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄; lizardite Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄.
     Some kinds of serpentines - beautiful decorative-ornamental gemstones. The version of antigorite - bouenite is reminded jade and is used as an ornamental gemstone.
     Noble serpentine (ophite) - has more light color and some transparence. Ordinary serpentine - the rock ore which is formed sometimes the whole mountains, it has more dark color and opaque. There are a lot of deposits of serpentine in South Ural, Altay, Transbaikaliya (river Sludyanka, Verhneudinsk and so forth), in Saxony, in Alpes and so forth. It is used for hand-made articles: jewelry boxes, vases, candelabrums, desk sets, jewelry and so on, and also for preparation of bitter salt.

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