Entry № 150
Fuchsite
Chromium Muscovite Mica
A green mica that keeps chromium in its sheets.
Chakra
Heart
Element
Earth
Zodiac
Taurus · Aquarius
I. The Metaphysical Reading
How the stone has been held.
Fuchsite is worked with as a stone of soft resilience, kept nearby during caretaking labour, counselling work and any practice that asks a person to stay tender under pressure. Practitioners hold it as a reminder that a soft mineral can still hold a strong colour.
- Chakra
- Heart
- Element
- Earth
- Zodiac
- Taurus · Aquarius
- Keynote
- A green mica that keeps chromium in its sheets.
II. The Scientific Reading
What the lattice actually does.
Fuchsite is the chromium-rich variety of the mica muscovite, in which Cr³⁺ substitutes for Al³⁺ in the octahedral layer to produce its characteristic emerald-green colour. It forms in metamorphosed ultramafic and carbonate rocks and is a common indicator mineral for gold-bearing greenstone belts. Fuchsite intergrown with red ruby is marketed as ruby-in-fuchsite.
- Formula
- K(Al,Cr)₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
- System
- Monoclinic
- Hardness
- 2 – 2.5 (Mohs)
- Provenance
- Brazil (Minas Gerais), India (Karnataka), Russia (Urals), Zimbabwe
References & Sources
Independent mineralogical references used to verify the scientific details above.
Mineral Profile
Fact Sheet
- Chemical Formula
- K(Al,Cr)₂(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂
- Crystal System
- Monoclinic
- Mohs Hardness
- 2 – 2.5 (Mohs)
- Density
- 2.77 – 2.88 g/cm³
- Refractive Index
- 1.552 – 1.618
- Provenance
- Brazil (Minas Gerais), India (Karnataka), Russia (Urals), Zimbabwe
- Color Origin
- Emerald to seafoam-green flaky mica coloured by chromium substitution
Related Crystals
Stones that share this lattice
Next in the Atlas
Fulgurite
A tube of glass a lightning bolt left in the sand.
