Brucite

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Brucite

Description

Brucite

A white to gray mineral composed of Magnesium hydroxide. Brucite was named for Archibald Bruce, an American mineralogist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It occurs naturally in deposits, often with Serpentine and Dolomite, in Italy (Teulada), Sweden (Jakobsberg, Filipstad, Nordmark), Canada, and the U.S. (Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas). The soft mineral can be transparent to translucent with a pearly luster. Brucite is used as a refractory material as well as for a source of Magnesium metal and Magnesia.

Synonyms and Related Terms

nemalite; magnesium hydroxide; magnesium hydrate; milk of magnesia; brucita (Esp.); brucite (Port.); Brucit (Deut.); bruciet (Ned.)

FTIR (PMA)

BRUCITE PMA.TIF

Raman

BruciteRS.jpg

Chemical structure

Brucite.jpg

Risks

  • EChemi.com: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

  • Tabular, rhombohedron crystals, may sometimes be fibrous.
  • Perfect cleavage parallel to prism base.
  • Luster = waxy to vitreous.
  • Streak = white.
Composition Mg(OH)2
CAS 1309-42-8
Mohs Hardness 2.5
Density 2.39 g/ml
Molecular Weight mol. wt. = 58.32

Resources and Citations

  • C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979
  • Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
  • Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976
  • Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
  • MSDS Sheet Comment: density - 2.36