PIMELITE



Pimelite, a nickel silicate hydroxide mineral, was first described by Koenig (1889, 1890) from Franklin; it has not been reported from Sterling Hill. Koenig had named it desaulesite for Major de Saules, manager of the Trotter Mine; this material was shown to be identical with pimelite by Faust (1966). It is green, varying in hue and intensity with thickness and impurities, but is commonly a bright vivid green. The luster is not a useful discriminant. Chemical analyses were provided by Palache (1935). Pimelite occurs solely as localized, patchy, thin crusts and dense 1-6 cm masses as an alteration product of the nickel arsenides (Oen et al., 1984) from the Trotter Shaft at Franklin. It is a secondary, low-temperature mineral, associated with sparse annabergite and with fluorite, barite, and sphalerite. (Dunn, 1995)

 Location Found: Franklin
     
 Mineral Note: Material from Franklin appears to be a nickel-dominant smectite clay, and thus properly labeled pimelite rather than willemseite, a nickel-dominant talc mineral, Further study needed.
 Year Discovered: 1788
     
 Formula: Ni3Si4O10(OH)2·4H2O
 Essential Elements: Hydrogen, Nickel, Oxygen, Silicon
 All Elements in Formula: Hydrogen, Nickel, Oxygen, Silicon
     
 IMA Status: Rejected 2006
     
     
 To find out more about this mineral at minDat's website, follow this link   Pimelite

     
 References:
Dunn, Pete J. (1995). Franklin and Sterling Hill New Jersey: the world's most magnificent mineral deposits. Franklin, NJ.: The Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society. p.502

Frondel, Clifford (1972). The minerals of Franklin and Sterling Hill, a checklist. NY.: John Willey & Sons. p.71


The Picking Table References
 PT Issue and PageDescription / Comment
View IssueV. 31, No. 1 - Spring 1990, pg. 3Breithauptite From The Nickel-Arsenide Assemblage at Franklin, New Jersey, Pimelite (small description)
View IssueV. 9, No. 1 - February 1968, pg. 12The Exclusive Minerals of Franklin/Ogdensburg, N.J. (as of January 1968) by Frank Z. Edwards - Desaulite
View IssueV. 8, No. 1 - February 1967, pg. 6Desaulesite/Pimelite
     
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