Inesite

Inesite is a hydrous calcium manganese silicate mineral.^[5]  Its chemical formula is Ca₂Mn₇Si₁₀O₂₈(OH)₂•5(H₂O). Inesite is an inosilicate with a triclinic crystal system. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6, and a specific gravity of 3.0. Its name originates from the Greek Ίνες (ines), "fibers" in allusion to its color and habit.^[3]

Inesite
Inesite Crystals from Fengjishan Mine (Daye Copper Mine), Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China.
General
Category	Inosilicates
Formula	Ca2Mn7Si10O28(OH)2•5(H2O)
IMA symbol	Ins[1]
Strunz classification	09.DL.05
Dana classification	66.3.3.1
Crystal system	Triclinic
Space group	P1 (no.2)
Identification
Color	Rose red, pink, orange-pink, orange-red-brown
Crystal habit	Massive, fibrous, radial, spherical
Cleavage	Perfect
Fracture	Irregular/Uneven
Tenacity	Brittle
Mohs scale hardness	5.5 - 6
Luster	Vitreous, Silky
Streak	White
Diaphaneity	Translucent
Specific gravity	3.0
Ultraviolet fluorescence	Non-fluorescent
Common impurities	Fe, Al, Mg, K
References	[2][3][4]

Occurrence and distribution

Inesite occurs in hydrothermal replacement deposits of manganese-rich metamorphic rocks and serpentines.^[6]  It was first described in 1887 at Hilfe Gottes Mine, Oberscheld, Dillenburg, Dillenburg District, Hesse, Germany. Outside of the type locality, there are several notable localities of inesite, such as:^[7][8]

• Wessels and N'Chwanning Mines, Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape, South Africa where Inesite is associated with datolite, pectolite, apophyllite, ruizite, orientite and quartz.

• Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

• Långban, Persberg, Värmland, Sweden.

• Kawazu Mine, Shizuoka Prefecture, Chubu Region, Honshu Island, Japan

• Hale Creek Mine, Trinity County, California, USA, where Inesite is associated with Rhodochrosite, bementite, and hausmannite.

• Fengjishan Mine (Daye Copper Mine), Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China.

Inesite Gallery

• 
  Bright red inesite with orange prehnite from N'Chwanning II Mine, Kuruman, Kalahari Manganese Field, North Cape, South Africa
• 
  Inesite from Hale Creek Mine,Trinity County, California, USA
• 
  Inesite with yellow hubeite from Fengjishan Mine (Daye Copper Mine), Edong Mining District, Daye County, Huangshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China
• 
  Brown Inesite from Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia
• 
  Inesite on top of orlymanite from Wessels Mine, Hotazel, Kalahari Manganese field, Northern Cape, South Africa