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Taiwan Nephrite

Tags: mineral

 
Name: Nephrite
Locality: Fenqtien, Hualien, Taiwan
Size & weight: 12.120g
Chemical Class: Silicate
Chemical Formula: Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2
Crystal System: Monoclinic system
Hardness: 4.7-7.1
Luster: Vitreous and Greasy
Color: White, black, red, green
Specific Gravity: 2.96-3.04
“Taiwan jade” is famous all over the world, and yet so far it is only found and mined in Fengtien, Hualien. Nephrite is hosted in serpentinite, black schists and marble. Black speckles in the jade are “chromite”. Under chemical analysis only jade with chromite speckles that are Zn-containing is genuine Taiwan jade.
 
NTU Digital Archives of Geosciences Department, National Taiwan University