Ilmenite

Ilmenite
Ilmenite from Miass, Ilmen Mts, Chelyabinsk Oblast', Southern Urals, Urals Region, Russia. 4.5 x 4.3 x 1.5 cm
General
CategoryOxide mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
Iron titanium oxide, FeTiO
3
IMA symbolIlm[1]
Strunz classification4.CB.05
Dana classification04.03.05.01
Crystal systemTrigonal
Crystal classRhombohedral (3)
H-M symbol: (3)
Space groupR3 (no. 148)
Unit cella = 5.08854(7)
c = 14.0924(3) [Å]: Z = 6
Identification
ColorIron-black; gray with a brownish tint in reflected light
Crystal habitGranular to massive and lamellar exsolutions in hematite or magnetite
Twinning{0001} simple, {1011} lamellar
CleavageAbsent; parting on {0001} and {1011}
FractureConchoidal to subconchoidal
TenacityBrittle
Mohs scale hardness5–6
LusterMetallic to submetallic
StreakBlack
DiaphaneityOpaque
Specific gravity4.70–4.79
Optical propertiesUniaxial (–)
BirefringenceStrong; O: pinkish brown, E: dark brown (bireflectance)
Other characteristicsWeakly magnetic
References[2][3][4]

Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula FeTiO
3
. It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium[5] and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing inks,[6] fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food and cosmetics.[7]

  1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ Barthelmy, David (2014). "Ilmenite Mineral Data". Mineralogy Database. Webmineral.com. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  3. ^ Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (eds.). "Ilmenite". Handbook of Mineralogy (PDF). Chantilly, VA, USA: Mineralogical Society of America. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  4. ^ ilmenite, Mindat.org
  5. ^ Heinz Sibum, Volker Günther, Oskar Roidl, Fathi Habashi, Hans Uwe Wolf, "Titanium, Titanium Alloys, and Titanium Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a27_095
  6. ^ "Sachtleben RDI-S" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Products". Mineral Commodities Ltd. Retrieved 8 August 2016.