Brucite

Brucite, Mg(OH)2, is a member of the oxides and hydroxides family. It has a monoclinic crystal system with tabular habit. It is not an important mineral in soils, per se, but it presents a model system for a trioctahedral sheet structure that is not attached to a silicate tetrahedral sheet as in the trioctahedral phyllosilicates. Its dioctahedral corollary is gibbsite, Al(OH)3

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Magnesium (Mg) atoms
Oxygen (O) atoms
Single Mg octahedron
Single unit cell
All atoms

Crystallographic Data

Distribution

Brucite occurs in dolomitic limestones (metamorphosed) and can be found in theU.S., Russia and Canada.

Reference

Parise J.B., K. Leinenweber, D.J. Weidner, K. Tan, and R.B. Von Dreele. 1994. Pressure-induced H bonding: neutron diffraction study of brucite, Mg (OD)2, to 9.3 GPa. American Mineralogist 79:193-196


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Original release: 1 Oct 1998;