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Mellite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

Chemistry:  Al₂[C₆(COO)₆] ·16(H₂O)
[Aluminum Mellitate (Benzene Hexacarboxylate) Hydrate]

Discovered in 1789;  IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered).
Mellite is named from the Greek word "melis" for "honey," in allusion to the typical color.

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Organic Compounds

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

9/A.02-10

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

10.AC.05

10 : ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
A : Salts of organic acids
C : Benzine Salts

Related to:

Mellite - Abelsonite (?) Series

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Tetragonal - Ditetragonal Dipyramidal

Crystal Habit:

Crystals are dipyramidal, also prismatic, to 7.5 cm; as nodules and coatings, fine-grained massive.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

[023] Imperfect

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Slightly Sectile

Hardness (Mohs):

2.0 - 2.5

Density:

1.55 - 1.65 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

Pale yellow to blue under LW and SW UV

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Pyroelectric. Insoluble in water and alcohol but soluble in HNO3.

Optical Properties

Color:

Brown, Brownish White, Colorless, Honey-Yellow, Golden Brown

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Vitreous, Resinous, Greasy

Refractive Index:

1.511 - 1.539  Uniaxial ( - ); may be anomalously Biaxial

Birefringence:

0.0280

Dispersion:

None

Pleochroism:

Weak; O = yellowish brown, E = yellow

Occurances

Geological Setting:

An uncommon secondary mineral in brown coal and lignite deposits, aluminum typically derived from clay.

Type Locality:

Artern, Unstrut Valley, Thuringia, Germany

Year Discovered:

1789

View mineral photos:

Mellite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Mellite is a very rare secondary mineral found associated with brown coal and lignite deposits. It is an organic compound as it is derived from coal. Its name is from the Greek word "melis" for "honey" in allusion to its typical color although it is also found colorless and in shades of brown.

Mellite is only found in a few locations including Germany, from Artern, Thuringia, and near Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt. At Lusice, near Bílina, Valchov, and Boskovice, Czech Republic. Large crystals from the Csordakút mine, Tatabánya, Hungary. From Malevka, Bogoroditsk district, southeast of Tula, Russia.
 

  
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