BROOKITE



Brookite, a titanium oxide mineral, was first reported from Franklin by Gordon (1951, reprinted in 1976); it has not been found at Sterling Hill.
Gordon described rare, black, stout, prismatic crystals, less than 2 mm in size and elongate. Additionally, as illustrated by Peters et al. (1983), Franklin brookite may be tabular, bladed, or equant in habit. Crystal faces are commonly tarnished and may have discernible coatings. Local brookite is reddish-brown, dark brown, yellow, or black, with indistinct cleavages and adamantine luster on freshly broken surfaces. Broken crystals are recognized by the high luster and matrix. Within the Buckwheat Dolomite only rutile, sphalerite, and anatase have as high a luster, and they have different habits. Brookite is differentiated from sphalerite by the distinct cleavages of the latter. There are no analytical data for local specimens.
Franklin brookite is found in vugs in the Buckwheat Dolomite, associated with rutile and a large number of other species, as described by Peters et al. (1983). Brookite is also found in the Kittatinny Limestone. (Dunn, 1995)

 Location Found: Franklin
     
 
 Year Discovered: 1825
     
 Formula: TiO2
 Essential Elements: Oxygen, Titanium
 All Elements in Formula: Oxygen, Titanium
     
 IMA Status: Valid - first described prior to 1959 (pre-IMA) - "Grandfathered"
     
     
 To find out more about this mineral at minDat's website, follow this link   Brookite

     
 References:
Dunn, Pete J. (1995). Franklin and Sterling Hill New Jersey: the world's most magnificent mineral deposits. Franklin, NJ.: The Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society. p.584

Frondel, Clifford (1972). The minerals of Franklin and Sterling Hill, a checklist. NY.: John Willey & Sons. p.46
The Picking Table References
 PT Issue and PageDescription / Comment
View IssueV. 51, No. 2 - Fall 2010, pg. 14Anatase and Its Polymorph Cousins of the Buckwheat
View IssueV. 24 No. 2 - Fall 1983, pg. 12Minerals of the Buckwheat Dolomite Franklin, New Jersey, Brookite
View IssueV. 20, No. 1 - March 1979, pg. 10Micromineralogy Stalking The Elusive Brookite by Helen U. Warinsky
View IssueV. 19, No. 2 - September 1978, pg. 9The Post Palache Minerals by Frank Z. Edwards - Brookite
     
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