Wodginite

Wodginite is a manganese, tin, tantalum oxide mineral with the chemical formula Mn²⁺(Sn,Ta)Ta₂O₈. It may also include significant amounts of niobium.^[2][3]

Wodginite
Wodginite over cassiterite
General
Category	Oxide - Tantalate mineral
Formula	Mn2+(Sn,Ta)Ta2O8
IMA symbol	Wdg[1]
Strunz classification	4.DB.40
Dana classification	08.01.08.01
Crystal system	Monoclinic
Crystal class	Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol)
Space group	C2/c (no. 15)
Identification
Color	Reddish brown, dark brown to black
Crystal habit	Flattened dipyramidal to prismatic crystals in radiating groups; granular, massive.
Twinning	Very common as penetration twins
Cleavage	none
Fracture	Irregular
Tenacity	Brittle
Mohs scale hardness	5.5
Luster	Sub-metallic
Streak	Brown
Diaphaneity	Opaque, translucent in thin fragments
Specific gravity	7.19–7.36
References	[2][3][4][5]

Background

Wodginite was first described in 1963 for an occurrence in the Wodgina pegmatite, Wodgina, Pilbara Region, Western Australia.^[4]

Typical occurrence of wodginite occurs in zoned pegmatites in amphibolite. It is associated with tantalite, albite, quartz, muscovite, tapiolite, microlite and microcline.^[2]

It occurs in pegmatites in a wide variety of locations. The most studied is the Tanco pegmatite in Manitoba, Canada; also in Red Lake, Ontario. It is reported from the Strickland quarry, Portland, Middlesex County, Connecticut; the Herbb #2 pegmatite, Powhatan County, Virginia; the McAllister mine, Rockford, Coosa County, Alabama; the Peerless mine, Pennington County, South Dakota. Also from Paraíba and Minas Gerais, Brazil; Krasonice, Czech Republic; Orivesi, Finland; Kalba, eastern Kazakhstan; Ankole, Uganda; Miami district, Zimbabwe and Karibib and Kohero, Namibia.^[2][4]

The figure shows, that the columbite group (including tantalite) and wodginite can be seen as a superstructure of ixiolite.^[6]