nemalite

English
Nemalite in pale green antigorite, mined in Vermont, USA.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek νῆμα (nêma, “thread”) +‎ -lite.

Noun

nemalite (usually uncountable, plural nemalites)

  1. (mineralogy) A variety of brucite, occurring in slender fibers which are elastic and easily separated, having a color of white with a shade of yellow and a highly silky luster.
    • 1845 September, “My Cabinet”, in Charlotte Elizabeth, editor, The Christian Lady's Magazine, volume 24, page 264:
      In the mineral kingdom [Magnesium] is found in a native state, combined with water, though this is not a common mineral. The siliceous hydrate, or nemalite, is still rarer. The carbonate is far more common; […].
    • 1846 October, Arthur Connell, “Analysis of the American Mineral Nemalite”, in Robert Jameson, editor, The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Exhibiting a View of the Progressive Discoveries and Improvements in the Sciences and the Arts, volume 41, number 82, Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, page 388:
      The specimens examined by me had the ordinary external characters of nemalite, consisting of adhering fibres of a fine silky lustre, and white colour, with a shade of yellow and partial slight blue or green tinge.
    • 1874 October 17, “New Jersey Minerals”, in Scientific American, volume 31, number 16 (new series), New York: Munn, page 244:
      Several thousand specimens have been quarried from the serpentine and trap Ridges in New Jersey, under the direction of Professor Leeds of the Stevens Institute. They consist of nemalites, occurring in translucent masses made up of long, silky fibers; […].
    • 1897 May, F. R. Mallet, “On Nemalite from Afghánistán”, in The Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, volume 11, number 52, London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent, page 213:
      As nemalite and chrysotile are usually found under similar conditions—in the form of veins traversing serpentine—it seems not unnatural that the two allied magnesian fibrous minerals should co-exist intimately mixed in the same vein, […].

Further reading
  • David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Nemalite”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
  • “nemalite”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.

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