HUMITE

Humite, a magnesium silicate hydroxide mineral of the humite group, has not been studied from the local marble quarries. It has been reported (Dunn, 1985a) as highly manganoan and zincian material from the orebodies at both Franklin and Sterling Hill. At Franklin, manganoan humite occurs as brown blebby crystals with much calcite and minor franklinite, willemite, and zincite. At Sterling Hill, manganoan humite is brown and associated with franklinite, calcite, and minor willemite. Humite has been observed as a reaction rim on apparent tephroite (Dunn, 1985a), and it coexists with chondrodite, but no studies have been made of the possible partitioning of cations between these species. The humite reported by Palache (1910) may have been norbergite or chondrodite. (Dunn, 1995)

Location Found:

Franklin and Ogdensburg

Year Discovered:

1813

Formula:

(Mg,Fe²⁺)₇(SiO₄)₃(F,OH)₂

Essential Elements:

Fluorine, Magnesium, Oxygen, Silicon

All Elements in Formula:

Fluorine, Hydrogen, Iron, Magnesium, Oxygen, Silicon

IMA Status:

Valid - first described prior to 1959 (pre-IMA) - "Grandfathered"

Fluorescent Mineral Properties

Shortwave UV light:

Weak pale yellow

To find out more about this mineral at minDat's website, follow this link Humite

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.347

Frondel, Clifford (1972). The minerals of Franklin and Sterling Hill, a checklist. NY.: John Willey & Sons. p.62

The Picking Table References

	PT Issue and Page	Description / Comment
View Issue	V. 57, No. 2 - Fall 2016, pg. 20	Fluorescent Minerals of Franklin and Sterling Hill, N.J., Part 1, Richard C. Bostwick - Humite
View Issue	V. 16, No. 2 - August 1975, pg. 7	The Olivine and Humite Groups at Franklin-Sterling Hill by David A. Cook
View Issue	V. 12, No. 2 - August 1971, pg. 7	New Minerals for Franklin-Sterling Validated List - Humite (small article)

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