Provenite

About Calcite

CaCO₃

One of the most common minerals in the crust and among the most varied in crystal form; strong double refraction is visible through clear cleavage rhombs (Iceland spar).

Show 6 localities on the map

Photos of Calcite

Calcite with clear and reddish-brown hematite zoning, Tsumeb.
Calcite · Tsumeb Mine
Calcite with clear and reddish-brown hematite zoning, Tsumeb.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Rich-pink manganoan calcite with organic-like habit, Wessels Mine.
Calcite · Wessels Mine (Kalahari manganese field, near Hotazel)
Rich-pink manganoan calcite with organic-like habit, Wessels Mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Sharp glassy calcite crystal on a matrix shard from the Huarón mines.
Calcite · Huarón Mine (Huarón Mining District)
Sharp glassy calcite crystal on a matrix shard from the Huarón mines.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Golden calcite cluster with a phantom, Sweetwater Mine, Viburnum Trend.
Calcite · Viburnum Trend
Golden calcite cluster with a phantom, Sweetwater Mine, Viburnum Trend.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Amber doubly terminated twinned calcite with a cluster of shark's-tooth crystals, Elmwood mine.
Calcite · Elmwood Mine (Carthage, Smith County)
Amber doubly terminated twinned calcite with a cluster of shark's-tooth crystals, Elmwood mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Pyramidal calcite crystals with phantoms, Leiping mine.
Calcite · Leiping Mine (Guiyang County, Chenzhou)
Pyramidal calcite crystals with phantoms, Leiping mine.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

Where Calcite is found (6)

China

Namibia

Peru

South Africa

United States

Calcite on the same specimen with other minerals

Same specimen Calcite with Marcasite at Olkusz ore district

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show marcasite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Marcasite at Sweetwater Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show marcasite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Chalcopyrite at Cavnic

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show chalcopyrite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Galena at Krushev dol Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show galena with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Galena at Viburnum Trend

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show galena with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Galena at Neudorf (Harzgerode)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show galena with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Vanadinite at Apache Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show vanadinite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Vanadinite at Los Lamentos Mountains (Ahumada mine area)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show vanadinite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Sphalerite at Joplin Field

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show sphalerite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Dolomite at Black Rock (Lawrence County Zinc District)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show dolomite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Siderite at Nikolaevskiy Mine

2 specimen photo(s) from this locality show siderite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Siderite at Lovilia area (Monroe County)

2 specimen photo(s) from this locality show siderite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Rhodochrosite at Kerch Peninsula

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Rhodochrosite at Black Rock Mine

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Rhodochrosite at Cavnic

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Rhodochrosite at Pachapaqui Mining District

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Rhodochrosite at Cassandra Mines (Stratoni, Chalkidiki)

2 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Same specimen Calcite with Rhodochrosite at Săcărâmb (Nagyág)

1 specimen photo(s) from this locality show rhodochrosite with calcite together. The pairing comes from the photographer's file name and label, so the relationship between the two minerals is not specified.

Identity

Group
Calcite Group
Strunz
5.AB.05 · 5 Carbonates and nitrates
IMA status
Grandfathered
Name origin
From the Latin 'calx' (lime), via German 'Calcit', alluding to its use in making lime.
Elements
Ca, C, O

Physical properties

Color
Colorless or white; also gray, yellow, green and many other colors caused by included minerals
Streak
White
Luster
Vitreous luster
Transparency
Variable
Mohs hardness
3
Density
2.71 g/cm³
Cleavage / fracture
Perfect rhombohedral cleavage {10-11} in three directions (about 74.9 degrees); fracture conchoidal; brittle
Magnetism / fluorescence
Fluoresces red, blue, yellow and other colors under short- and long-wave UV; may phosphoresce

Crystallography

Crystal system
Trigonal
Space group
R-3c
Typical habit
Rhombohedral, scalenohedral ('dogtooth'), prismatic or tabular crystals (over 1000 forms recorded); also stalactitic, botryoidal, granular and massive
Twinning
Common, on {01-12}, {10-11}, {0001} and {02-21}
Optical data
Uniaxial (-), anomalously biaxial; omega about 1.658, epsilon about 1.486; very strong birefringence and dispersion

Formation and use

Formation
Major rock-forming mineral of limestone, marble and chalk; common cement in sedimentary rocks; gangue in low-temperature hydrothermal veins; also in alkaline to mafic igneous rocks, in vesicles with zeolites, and as speleothems in caves.
Uses
Lime and cement raw material, building stone, filler (for example in paper), optical components (Iceland spar), and collector specimens.
Stability and care
Dissolves with effervescence in dilute acids, so keep acids and acidic cleaners away from specimens.

Related minerals

Related minerals
Rhodochrosite (solid-solution series)dolomite
Polymorphs
Aragonitevaterite
Can be confused with
Dolomitearagonite

Sources

  1. SRC-184 · Book
    Handbook of Mineralogy - CalciteAnthony, J.W.; Bideaux, R.A.; Bladh, K.W.; Nichols, M.C. · Mineralogical Society of America
  2. SRC-185 · Website
    CalciteWikipedia contributors · Wikipedia

Draft data from the Provenite workbook. Check entries against the cited sources before relying on them. Photos are open-licence images from Wikimedia Commons; the author and licence are given with each photo.