Seraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of
clinochlore, a member of the
chlorite group
The chlorites are the group of phyllosilicate minerals common in low-grade metamorphic rocks and in Mineral alteration, altered igneous rocks. Greenschist, formed by metamorphism of basalt or other low-silica volcanic rock, typically contains si ...
.
Seraphinite apparently acquired its name due to its resemblance to feathers due to its
chatoyancy. Seraphinite is named after the biblical seraphs or seraphim angels. With some specimens the resemblance is quite strong, with shorter down-like feathery growths leading into longer "flight feathers"; the resemblance even spurs fanciful marketing phrases like "silver plume seraphinite." Seraphinite is generally dark green to gray in color, has chatoyancy, and has hardness between 2 and 4 on the
Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
Seraphinite is mined in a limited area of eastern Siberia in Russia. Russian mineralogist
Nikolay Koksharov (1818-1892 or 1893) is often credited with its discovery. It occurs in the Korshunovskoye iron
skarn deposit in the
Irkutskaya Oblast of Eastern
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
.
Seraphinite on Mindat
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References
Gemstones
Phyllosilicates
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