Magnesium phyllosilicate mineral of the serpentine group
Lizardite
General
Category
Mineral
Formula (repeating unit)
Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4[1]
IMA symbol
Lz[2]
Strunz classification
9.ED.15
Dana classification
71.01.2b.02
Crystal system
Trigonal
Identification
Color
Green, brown, light yellow to white
Mohs scale hardness
2.5
Luster
Resinous, waxy, greasy
Streak
White
Specific gravity
2.55
Lizardite is a mineral from the serpentine subgroup[3] with formula Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4, and the most common type of mineral in the subgroup.[4] It is also a member of the kaolinite-serpentine group.[5]
Lizardite may form a solid-solution series with the nickel-bearing népouite (pure end-member: Ni3(Si2O5)(OH)4). Intermediate compositions (Mg,Ni)3(Si2O5)(OH)4 are possible, with varying proportions of magnesium and nickel.[6] However, the lizardite end-member is much more common than pure népouite, a relatively rare mineral most often formed by the alteration of ultramafic rocks.
Extremely fine-grained, scaly lizardite (also called orthoantigorite) comprises much of the serpentine present in serpentine marbles. It is triclinic, has one direction of perfect cleavage, and may be white, yellow or green. Lizardite is translucent and soft, and may be pseudomorphous after enstatite, olivine or pyroxene, in which case the name bastite is sometimes applied. Bastite may have a silky lustre.[1]
^ abCite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Gaines, Richard V.; Skinner, H. Catherine W.; Foord, Eugene E.; Mason, Brian; Rosensweig, Abraham (1997). Dana's new mineralogy : the system of mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana (8th, entirely rewritten and greatly enl. ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0471193104.
^Brindley, G.W.; Wan, Hsien-Ming (1975). "Compositions, structures, and thermal behavior of nickel-containing minerals in the lizardite-nepouite series". American Mineralogist. 60: 863–871. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
Lizardite is a mineral from the serpentine subgroup with formula Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4, and the most common type of mineral in the subgroup. It is also a member...
There are three important mineral polymorphs of serpentine: antigorite, lizardite and chrysotile. Serpentine minerals are polymorphous, meaning that they...
cut into cabochons and beads. The magnesian serpentines (antigorite, lizardite, chrysotile) are trioctahedral hydrous phyllosilicates. Their structure...
by serpentinization include the serpentine group minerals (antigorite, lizardite, chrysotile), brucite, talc, Ni-Fe alloys, and magnetite. The mineral...
The final mineral composition of serpentinite is usually dominated by lizardite, chrysotile (two minerals of the serpentine subgroup), and magnetite (Fe3O4)...
serpentinite contains significant samples of the serpentine polymorph lizardite, which were named after the Lizard complex in 1955. Several nature sites...
contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially antigorite, lizardite, and chrysotile or white asbestos, all of which are commonly found in...
groups: an Ni-talc to willemseite (up to 25 weight percent Ni) group, an Ni-lizardite to nepouite (up to 34 weight percent Ni) group and an Ni-sepiolite to...
predominantly of the serpentine minerals, antigorite, chrysotile, and lizardite; it also contains asbestos and talc. At the end of the Paleozoic era (248 million...
Serpentine is a mineral group, and includes the minerals antigorite, lizardite, and chrysotile, all of which share the same chemical composition but...
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