Rhönite
A valid IMA mineral species
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About Rhönite
Formula:
Ca4[Mg8Fe3+2Ti2]O4[Si6Al6O36]
Colour:
Brown-red, black to reddish black
Lustre:
Vitreous, Sub-Metallic
Hardness:
5 - 6
Specific Gravity:
3.4 - 3.76
Crystal System:
Triclinic
Member of:
Name:
Named for the type locality in the Rhön Mountains, near Fulda, Hesse, Germany.
Type Locality:
Rhönite Group.
A Ti3+-bearing member, one of three currently known phases with essential trivalent titanium by tistarite and grossmanite, is known from Allende meteorite ('UM1971-21-SiO:AlCaMgTi').
A Ti3+-bearing member, one of three currently known phases with essential trivalent titanium by tistarite and grossmanite, is known from Allende meteorite ('UM1971-21-SiO:AlCaMgTi').
Name Encoding
ASCII-7:
Rhonite
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
3402
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:3402:5
Similar Names
| Rheniite | A valid IMA mineral species | ReS2 |
| Rhenite | A synonym of Pseudomalachite | Cu5(PO4)2(OH)4 |
| Rhodite | A variety of Native Gold | (Au, Rh) |
| Rionite (of Brauns and Petersen) | A synonym of Bismuth-bearing Tetrahedrite | Cu6[Cu4(Fe,Zn)2]Sb4S13 |
IMA Classification of Rhönite
Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)
First published:
1907
Classification of Rhönite
9.DH.40
9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
H : Inosilicates with 4-periodic single chains, Si4O12
9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
D : Inosilicates
H : Inosilicates with 4-periodic single chains, Si4O12
69.2.1a.5
69 : INOSILICATES Chains with Side Branches or Loops
2 : Chains with Side Branches or Loops with P>2
69 : INOSILICATES Chains with Side Branches or Loops
2 : Chains with Side Branches or Loops with P>2
16.14.3
16 : Silicates Containing Aluminum and other Metals
14 : Aluminosilicates of Ti, Zr, Sn and Pb
16 : Silicates Containing Aluminum and other Metals
14 : Aluminosilicates of Ti, Zr, Sn and Pb
Mineral Symbols
As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
| Symbol | Source | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Rhö | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
Physical Properties of Rhönite
Vitreous, Sub-Metallic
Transparency:
Translucent, Opaque
Colour:
Brown-red, black to reddish black
Streak:
Reddish brown
Hardness:
5 - 6 on Mohs scale
Cleavage:
Distinct/Good
{010}, {001}
{010}, {001}
Density:
3.4 - 3.76 g/cm3 (Measured)
Optical Data of Rhönite
Type:
Biaxial (+)
RI values:
nα = 1.795 - 1.81 nβ = 1.806 - 1.825 nγ = 1.83 - 1.845
2V:
Measured: 50° to 90°, Calculated: 70° to 84°
Max. Birefringence:
δ = 0.035
Based on recorded range of RI values above.
Based on recorded range of RI values above.
Interference Colours:
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.
Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.
Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars.
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.
Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.
Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars.
Surface Relief:
Moderate
Dispersion:
r > v extreme
Pleochroism:
Strong
Comments:
X = dark greenish brown, red-brown; Y = dark reddish to greenish brown; Z = dark reddish brown to black
Chemistry of Rhönite
Mindat Formula:
Ca4[Mg8Fe3+2Ti2]O4[Si6Al6O36]
Element Weights:
Crystallography of Rhönite
Polytype:
Formula:
Crystal System:
Class (H-M)
Space Group:
Space Group Setting:
Cell Parameters:
Ratio:
Unit Cell Volume (calc):
Z:
| Rhönite-8Å |
|---|
| Ca4[Mg8Fe3+2Ti2]O4[Si6Al6O36] |
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 2.947 Å | (100) |
| 2.783 Å | (31) |
| 2.691 Å | (65) |
| 2.550 Å | (69) |
| 2.092 Å | (56) |
| 1.991 Å | (25) |
| 1.498 Å | (38) |
Geological Environment
Paragenetic Mode(s):
| Paragenetic Mode | Earliest Age (Ga) |
|---|---|
| Stage 1: Primary nebular phases | 4.567-4.561 |
| 3 : Solar nebular condensates (CAIs, AOAs, URIs) | >4.565 |
| Stage 3a: Earth’s earliest Hadean crust | >4.50 |
| 8 : Mafic igneous rocks | |
| 9 : Lava/xenolith minerals (hornfels, sanidinite facies) | |
| High-? alteration and/or metamorphism | |
| 31 : Thermally altered carbonate, phosphate, and iron formations | |
| Stage 4b: Highly evolved igneous rocks | >3.0 |
| 35 : Ultra-alkali and agpaitic igneous rocks |
Geological Setting:
Silica undersaturated, alkalic, mafic to intermediate igneous rocks.
Type Occurrence of Rhönite
Geological Setting of Type Material:
nepheline basanite
Synonyms of Rhönite
Other Language Names for Rhönite
Relationship of Rhönite to other Species
Member of:
Other Members of Rhönite Group:
| Dorrite | Ca4(Mg3Fe3+9)O4(Si3Al8Fe3+O36) | Tric. |
| Høgtuvaite | Ca4[Fe2+6Fe3+6]O4[Si8Be2Al2O36] | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Leucorhönite | Ca2(Mg,Fe3+,Al)6(Si,Al)6O20 | Tric. |
| Makarochkinite | (Ca,Na)4[Fe2+8Fe3+2Ti2]O4[Si8Be2Al2O36] | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Serendibite | Ca4[Mg6Al6]O4[Si6B3Al3O36] | Tric. 1 : P1 |
| Welshite | Ca4Mg9Sb3O4[Si6Be3AlFe2O36] | Tric. 1 : P1 |
Common Associates
Associated Minerals Based on Photo Data:
| 22 photos of Rhönite associated with Hematite | Fe2O3 |
| 4 photos of Rhönite associated with Amphibole Supergroup | AB2C5((Si,Al,Ti)8O22)(OH,F,Cl,O)2 |
| 4 photos of Rhönite associated with Calcite | CaCO3 |
| 3 photos of Rhönite associated with Erionite Subgroup | M2[Al4Si14O36] · 15H2O |
| 2 photos of Rhönite associated with Pseudobrookite | Fe2TiO5 |
| 2 photos of Rhönite associated with Ilmenite | Fe2+TiO3 |
| 2 photos of Rhönite associated with Forsterite | Mg2(SiO4) |
| 1 photo of Rhönite associated with Orthopyroxene Subgroup | |
| 1 photo of Rhönite associated with Cuspidine | Ca8(Si2O7)2F4 |
| 1 photo of Rhönite associated with Kaersutite | NaCa2(Mg3AlTi4+)(Si6Al2)O22O2 |
Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping
| 9.DH. | Devilliersite | Ca4Ca2Fe3+10O4[(Fe3+10Si2)O36] |
| 9.DH. | Gageite-2M | (Mn,Mg,Zn)42Si16O54(OH)40 |
| 9.DH. | Bavsiite | Ba2V2O2[Si4O12] |
| 9.DH. | Yuzuxiangite | Sr3Fe3+(Si2O6)2(OH) · 3H2O |
| 9.DH. | Louisfuchsite | Ca2(Mg4Ti2)(Al4Si2)O20 |
| 9.DH.05 | Leucophanite | NaCaBeSi2O6F |
| 9.DH.10 | Ohmilite | Sr3(Ti,Fe3+)(Si4O12)(O,OH) · 2-3H2O |
| 9.DH.15 | Haradaite | SrVSi2O7 |
| 9.DH.15 | Suzukiite | BaVSi2O7 |
| 9.DH.20 | Shcherbakovite | (K,Ba)KNa(Ti,Nb)2(Si4O12)O2 |
| 9.DH.20 | Batisite | BaNaNaTi2(Si4O12)O2 |
| 9.DH.20 | Noonkanbahite | BaKNaTi2(Si4O12)O2 |
| 9.DH.25 | Taikanite | Sr3BaMn2+2(Si4O12)O2 |
| 9.DH.30 | Krauskopfite | BaSi2O5 · 3H2O |
| 9.DH.35 | Gageite | Mn21(Si4O12)2O3(OH)20 |
| 9.DH.35 | Balangeroite | (Mg,Fe2+,Fe3+,Mn2+)42Si16O54(OH)40 |
| 9.DH.40 | Kuratite | Ca2(Fe2+5Ti)O2[Si4Al2O18] |
| 9.DH.40 | Aenigmatite | Na4[Fe2+10Ti2]O4[Si12O36] |
| 9.DH.40 | Dorrite | Ca4(Mg3Fe3+9)O4(Si3Al8Fe3+O36) |
| 9.DH.40 | Serendibite | Ca4[Mg6Al6]O4[Si6B3Al3O36] |
| 9.DH.40 | Khesinite | Ca4(Mg3Fe3+9)O4(Fe3+9Si3)O36 |
| 9.DH.40 | UM1991-29-SiO:FeMgNa | Na4(Mg5Fe3+7)O4[Si9Fe3+3O36] |
| 9.DH.40 | Høgtuvaite | Ca4[Fe2+6Fe3+6]O4[Si8Be2Al2O36] |
| 9.DH.40 | Leucorhönite | Ca2(Mg,Fe3+,Al)6(Si,Al)6O20 |
| 9.DH.40 | Welshite | Ca4Mg9Sb3O4[Si6Be3AlFe2O36] |
| 9.DH.40 | Wilkinsonite | Na2Fe2+4Fe3+2(Si6O18)O2 |
| 9.DH.40 | Krinovite | Na2Mg4Cr3+2(Si6O18)O2 |
| 9.DH.40 | Makarochkinite | (Ca,Na)4[Fe2+8Fe3+2Ti2]O4[Si8Be2Al2O36] |
| 9.DH.45 | Sapphirine | Mg4(Mg3Al9)O4[Si3Al9O36] |
| 9.DH.50 | Khmaralite | (Mg,Al,Fe)16[(Al,Si,Be)12O36]O4 |
| 9.DH.55 | UM1988-26-SiO:AlMg | Mg4Al2O[Si3Al2O15] |
| 9.DH.55 | Surinamite | (Mg,Fe)3Al4BeSi3O16 |
| 9.DH.60 | Deerite | Fe2+6Fe3+3(Si6O17)O3(OH)5 |
| 9.DH.65 | Taneyamalite | (Na,Ca)Mn2+12(Si,Al)12(O,OH)44 |
| 9.DH.65 | Howieite | Na(Fe2+,Fe3+,Al,Mg)12(Si6O17)2(O,OH)10 |
| 9.DH.70 | Johninnesite | Na2Mn2+9Mg7(OH)8[AsO4]2[Si6O17]2 |
| 9.DH.75 | Agrellite | NaCa2Si4O10F |
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Rhönite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-3402.html
Please feel free to link to this page.
Please feel free to link to this page.
Search Engines:
External Links:
References for Rhönite
Reference List:
Lacroix, Alfred (1909) Note sur la rhönite du Puy de Barneire à Saint-Sandoux. Bulletin de Minéralogie, 32 (7) 325-331 doi:10.3406/bulmi.1909.3374
Ficke, Bruno (1961) Petrologische Untersuchungen an tertiären basaltischen bis phonolithischen Vulkaniten der Rhön. Tschermaks Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen, 7 (4). 337-436 doi:10.1007/bf01127752
Cameron, K. L., Carman, M. F., Butler, J. C. (1970) Rhönite from Big Bend National Park, Texas. American Mineralogist, 55 (5-6) 864-874
Kyle, Philip R. (1975) Occurrences of rhonite in alkalic lavas of the McMurdo Volcanic group, Antarctica, and Dunedin Volcano, New Zealand. American Mineralogist, 60 (7-8) 722-725
Johnston, A. Dana, Stout, James H. (1984) A highly oxidized ferrian salite-, kennedyite-, forsterite-, and rhönite-bearing alkali gabbro from Kauai, Hawaii and its mantle xenoliths. American Mineralogist, 69 (1-2) 57-68
Johnston, A. Dana, Stout, James H. (1985) Compositional variation of naturally occurring rhoenite. American Mineralogist, 70 (11-12) 1211-1216
Bonaccorsi, Elena, Merlino, Stefano, Pasero, Marco (1990) Rhönite: structural and microstructural features, crystal chemistry and polysomatic relationships. European Journal of Mineralogy, 2 (2) 203-218 doi:10.1127/ejm/2/2/0203
Jensen, B. B. (1996) Solid solution among members of the aenigmatite group. Mineralogical Magazine, 60 (403) 982-986 doi:10.1180/minmag.1996.060.403.14
Kunzmann, Thomas (1999) The aenigmatite-rhönite mineral group. European Journal of Mineralogy, 11 (4) 743-756 doi:10.1127/ejm/11/4/0743
Grapes, R. H., Wysoczanski, R. J., Hoskin, P. W. O. (2003) Rhönite paragenesis in pyroxenite xenoliths, Mount Sidley volcano, Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica. Mineralogical Magazine, 67 (4) 639-651 doi:10.1180/0026461036740123
Grew, E. S., Hålenius, U., Pasero, M., Barbier, J. (2008) Recommended nomenclature for the sapphirine and surinamite groups (sapphirine supergroup) Mineralogical Magazine, 72 (4) 839-876 doi:10.1180/minmag.2008.072.4.839
Treiman, A. H. (2008) Rhönite in Luna 24 pyroxenes: First find from the Moon, and implications for volatiles in planetary magmas. American Mineralogist, 93 (2) 488-491 doi:10.2138/am.2008.2781
Grapes, Rodney; Keller, Jörg (2010) Fe2+-dominant rhönite in undersaturated alkaline basaltic rocks, Kaiserstuhl volcanic complex, Upper Rhine Graben, SW Germany. European Journal of Mineralogy, 22 (2). 285-292 doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2010/0022-1996
Peretyazhko, Igor S., Savina, Elena A., Khromova, Elena A. (2017) Minerals of the rhönite-kuratite series in paralavas from a new combustion metamorphic complex in the Choir–Nyalga basin (Central Mongolia): composition, mineral assemblages and formation conditions. Mineralogical Magazine, 81 (4) 949-974 doi:10.1180/minmag.2016.080.144
Localities for Rhönite
symbol to view information about a locality.
The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Africa | |
| Jambon et al. (2011) |
Antarctica | |
| Kyle (1975) |
| Grapes et al. (2003) |
Argentina | |
| Jambon et al. (2011) |
Australia | |
| www.crocoite.com (2003) |
Austria | |
| Schebesta (1983) +3 other references |
| Taucher +6 other references |
Cape Verde | |
| De Ignacio et al. (2012) |
China | |
| Gupta +1 other reference |
| Kong et al. (2020) |
Czech Republic | |
| Ulrych +8 other references |
| Paulis et al. (2014) |
France | |
| Bull. Soc. Franç. Minéralo. ... |
| Bull. Soc. Franç. Minéralo. ... |
| Grünhagen et al. (1972) |
| Queneau (n.d.) |
| Hède | |
| Bailey +7 other references | |
| Havette Ledebt et al. (1982) |
Germany | |
| Walenta (1960) |
| Weiß (1990) |
| Hentschel (1975) |
| Soellner (1907) | |
| Weiß (1990) |
| Weiß (1990) | |
| Rondorf et al. (1988) +2 other references | |
| Hentschel (1975) |
| Hentschel (1975) |
| Hentschel (1983) | |
| Blaß et al. (2015) |
| Lapis (5) +2 other references |
| Hentschel (1983) |
| Schüller et al. (1986) |
| Schüller (1990) |
| Soellner (1907) |
Greenland | |
| www.koeln.netsurf.de (1999) |
Hungary | |
| Sándor et al. (2005) |
| EGU / EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly et al. (Bakony-Balaton Highland) |
| XVI ECROFI European Current Research On Fluid Inclusions et al. (Eds F. Noronha, A. Dória and A. Guedes) |
Italy | |
| perso.club-internet.fr (n.d.) |
| Alletti et al. (2005) |
Japan | |
| Monkawa et al. (2002) |
Kazakhstan | |
| |
Mexico | |
| Fuchs (1971) |
Mongolia | |
| Savina et al. (2020) |
| Peretyazhko et al. (2017) |
| Peretyazhko et al. (2017) |
Morocco | |
| adsabs.harvard.edu (n.d.) +3 other references |
New Zealand | |
| Kyle (1975) |
Northwest Africa Meteorites | |
| Mikouchi et al. (2003) | |
Norway | |
| Bugge et al. (1980) +1 other reference |
Pacific Ocean | |
| Peretyazhko et al. (2022) |
Poland | |
| Lis et al. (1986) |
| Lis et al. (1986) |
| Ladenberger A. et al. (2006) |
Russia | |
| Anan’ev et al. (2011) |
| Anan’ev et al. (2011) |
| Zhitova et al. (2025) |
| 6th orogenic lherzolite conference 2014 ... | |
Slovakia | |
| Koděra (1986) |
| Huraiová et al. (2007) | |
| Koděra (1986) | |
| Huraiová et al. (2007) +1 other reference | |
| Koděra (1986) |
South Korea | |
| Lee (ed) +7 other references | |
Spain | |
| Analyzed by XRD by Dr. Joan Vinals (Barcelona) +1 other reference |
Sweden | |
| Printzlau et al. (1972) +7 other references |
USA | |
| Johnston et al. (1984) |
| Macdonald et al. (1960) +1 other reference | |
| Cameron et al. (1970) |
Zimbabwe | |
| Kopylova et al. (1997) |
The Moon | |
| Treiman (2008) |
Nickenicher Weinberg, Nickenich, Pellenz, Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany