Wodginite | |
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Wodginite over cassiterite
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General | |
Category | Oxide - Tantalate mineral |
Formula (repeating unit) |
Mn2+(Sn,Ta)Ta2O8 |
Strunz classification | 4.DB.40 |
Dana classification | 08.01.08.01 |
Crystal system | Monoclinic |
Crystal class | Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) |
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 |
Wodginite is a manganese, tin, tantalum oxide mineral with formula Mn2+(Sn,Ta)Ta2O8. It may include significant niobium.
Wodginite was first described in 1963 for an occurrence in the Wodgina pegmatite, Wodgina, Pilbara Region, Western Australia.
Typical occurrence is in zoned pegmatites in amphibolite. It is associated with tantalite, albite, quartz, muscovite, tapiolite, microlite and microcline.
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.