Musgravite
Species (IMA name: Magnesiotaaffeite-6N’3S)
Legendary · Be(Mg,Fe,Zn)₂Al₆O₁₂
First recognised in 1967 in the Musgrave Ranges of South Australia. A close relative of taaffeite with the same elements in a different stacking, it can be told from it only by Raman spectroscopy or X-ray diffraction, and stones submitted as musgravite are rarely confirmed.
Identity
- Formula
- Be(Mg,Fe,Zn)₂Al₆O₁₂
- Chemical class
- Oxide
- Also known as
- Magnesiotaaffeite-6N'3S
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Habits
- Massive, Tabular
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 8.5
- Density
- 3.68 g/cm³
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Colors
- gray-green, olive green, purple, colorless
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent
Geology
- Origins
- Metamorphic
- Host rocks
- Granite, Schist and gneiss
- Associated minerals
- Spinel, sapphirine, Mica
- Found in
- Pegmatite deposit
- Geography
- Australia (Musgrave Ranges), Antarctica, Greenland, Myanmar
Classification
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Gem quality
- Yes
Arcane properties
- Affinity
- Earth, Arcane
- Effects
- Warding, Elemental earth
- Planar origin
- Material Plane
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- Magnesiotaaffeite-6N’3S. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Musgravite. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Musgravite from Myanmar. Gemological Institute of America, Gems & Gemology (Spring 2013 Gem News International), 2013.
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