Mineral Name Chrysotile
First Discovered 1834
Nickel-Strunz Classification 09.ED.15
Dana Classification 71.01.02d.00
ICSD Pre IMA
Mineral Group Silicates

 

Chrysotile, or white asbestos, is the most commonly encountered form of asbestos, accounting for approximately 95% of the asbestos in place in the United States and a similar proportion in other countries. Chrysotile is a member of the serpentine group of minerals. The fibrous form of chrysotile is one of the six recognized types of asbestos. This material is toxic and inhaling the fibers can lead to asbestosis and lung cancer both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma. The word chrysotile comes from the greek words chrysos which mean gold and tilos which means fiber. Chrysotile has been recommended for inclusion in the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent, an international treaty that restricts the global trade in hazardous materials. If listed, exports of chrysotile would only be permitted to countries that explicitly consent to imports. Canada, a major producer of the mineral, has been harshly criticized by the Canadian Medical Association for its opposition to including chrysotile in the Convention.

Within the metaphysical realm of minerals, chrysotile has been used in the treatment of disorders of the veins and arteries, the pores of the skin such as inflammations and abrasions, lung disorders including emphysema and irritations, precipitating coughs, multiple sclerosis, tissue regeneration and chronic fatigue. Due to asbestos content, great care should be taken when handling chrysotile.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that minerals should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

Chrysotile fibres have considerable tensile strength, and may be spun into thread and woven into cloth. They are also resistant to heat and are excellent thermal, electrical and acoustic insulators.

Chrysotile can be found in veins of serpentine rocks.

Chrysotile is a soft, fibrous silicate mineral in the serpentine group of phyllosilicates; as such, it is distinct from other asbestiform minerals in the amphibole group. Bulk chrysotile, whose hardness is about the same as that of a human fingernail, is easily crumbled to fibres that are, in fact, bundles of fibrils. Naturally occurring fibre bundles range in length from several millimeters to more than ten centimeters, although industrially processed chrysotile usually has shorter fibre bundles. The diameter of the fibre bundles is 0.1–1 µm, and the individual fibrils are even finer, 0.02–0.03 µm, each fibre bundle containing tens or hundreds of fibrils.

Other than in the basic mineral form, chrysotile can be found in two distinct varieties:

   

Cleavage None
Colour(s) Green, Yellowish green, White
Specific Gravity 2.53
Diaphaneity Translucent
Fracture Sectile
Mohs Hardness 2.5
Luminescence Non-fluorescent
Luster Silky
Streak White
Habit(s) Acicular
Radioactivity Non-radioactive
Magnetism Non-magnetic

The following health hazards should be noted when handling chrysotile

BIOHAZARD

Chrysotile can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.


The following image shows the elemental breakdown of the mineral chrysotile along with the mineral crystal structure.

Crystal System Monoclinic
Class Prismatic  
Morphology Slender prismatic, tensile crystals  
Optical Data Type Biaxial  
Pleochroism (x) None  
Pleochroism (y) None
RL Values nα = 1.569 nγ = 1.570
Max Birefringence δ = 0.001 (See colour chart at right)
Surface Relief Moderate
Dispersion r >v or r<v

Chrysotile can be referenced in certain current and historical texts under the following thirteen names:

The mineral chrysotile can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic الكريسوتيل Bulgarian хризотил Chinese (Sim) 纤蛇纹石
Croatian krizotil Czech chrysotil Danish chrysotil
Dutch chrysotiel Esperanto   Estonian krüsotiiliga
Finnish krysotiili French   German Bostonit
Greek χρυσοτίλη Hebrew   Hungarian krizotil
Italian crisotilo Japanese クリソタイル Korean 온석면
Latin   Lithuanian chrizotilo Norwegian krysotil
Persian   Polish chryzolitowy Portuguese crisotila
Romanian   Russian хризотил Slovak chryzotil
Spanish Bostonita Swedish krysotil Tagalog  
Turkish Zebercet Ukrainian хризотил Vietnamese  

Chrysotile can be found in a few places around the world. The map below shows major documented concentrations of chrysotile:

The MIROFOSS database offers free printable geological identification tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify mineral samples in your collection. -Click here- to download a full size jpeg image for a chrysotile identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

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Chemical Composition Wicks, F.J. (1979) Mineralogy, chemistry and crystallography of chrysotile asbestos. Section I, Part B. In: Mineralogical Techniques of Asbestos Determination (R.L. Ledoux, ed.). Mineralogical Association of Canada, Short Course Handbook 4: 35-78.
Crystallography Whittaker, E.J.W. (1956a) The structure of chrysotile . II. Clinochrysotile. Acta Crystallographica: 9: 855-862.
Crystallography Yada, K. (1971) Study of microstructure of chrysotile asbestos by high-resolution electron microscope. Acta Crystallographica: 27: 659-664.
History Canadian Mineralogist 44 (2006), 1557
Geographical Data Mindat.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-15
Physical Identification Webmineral.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-15.
May 16, 2012 The last time this page was updated
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