Diopside
Mineral CaMgSi2O6
Also called Violane
About it
Stubby green prisms with near-right-angle cleavages, in marble and skarn; bright chrome diopside from Siberia, and fine crystals from Pakistan, Italy's Val d'Ala, and Ontario.
- Type
- Mineral
- Group
- Silicate (inosilicate), pyroxene group
- Formula
- CaMgSi2O6
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 5.5–6.5
- Specific gravity
- 3.22–3.38
- Streak
- white to pale green
- Lustre
- vitreous (glassy)
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Colours
- green, bright green, white, colourless, grey, brown, blue
- Transparency
- transparent, translucent, opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- good in two directions at nearly 90°
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.