Stichtite is a mineral which is a carbonate of chromium and magnesium. Stichtite was discovered in 1910 in Western Tasmania, Australia, it was first recognized by A.S. Wesley a former chief chemist with the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, it was named after Robert Carl Sticht the  former general manager of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company.

Within the metaphysical realm of minerals, Stichtite is a stone that brings emotional awareness and expansion to the believer. It is a very calming stone that brings tranquility and peace to individuals and to their environment. It helps to be gentle with self and others, and promotes keeping promises, openly sharing opinions, and considering all thoughts with love. It engenders loving companionship of all kinds. For family life, stichtite can help children behave positively.

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.

Stichtite is used as a very minor ore of chromium, as a mineral specimen for collectors, and as ornamental stone.

Stichtite is an alteration product of serpentine and can be found in serpentine veins.

The colour of Stichtite ranges from pink through lilac, to a rich purple colour. It is formed as an alteration product from chromium containing serpentine. It was observed near the Adelaide Mine, Dundas - east of Zeehan, as well as on the southern shore of Macquarie Harbour. It is exhibited in the West Coast Pioneers Museum in Zeehan. Stichtite is very soft, 1.5 to 2.0 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, which can be compared to Talc-Gypsum.

Other than in the basic mineral form, stichtite can be found in one distinct variety:

Bouazzerite (of Cailleres)

Cleavage	Perfect
Colour(s)	Lilac, Light violet, Pink
Specific Gravity	2.20
Diaphaneity	Translucent to Opaque
Fracture	Uneven - Flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in an uneven payyern
Mohs Hardness	1.5 to 2.0
Luminescence	Non-fluorescent
Lustre	Vitreous
Streak	Pale violet blue
Habit(s)	Encustations to Nodular to Micaceous
Radioactivity	Non-radioactive
Magnetism	Non-magnetic

No known health risks have been associated with stichtite. However ingestion of stichtite, as with other naturally occurring minerals, is not recommended.

The following image shows the Elemental breakdown of the mineral stichtite along with the mineral crystal structure.

Crystal System	Trigonal
Class	Rhombohedral
Axial Ratios	a : b : c = 1 : N/A : 7.50485
Morphology	Matted or contorted aggregates of plates or fibres.
Optical Data Type	Uniaxial (+)
Dichroism (e)	Colourless
Dichroism (w)	Colourless
Pleochroism	Weak
RL Values	nω = 1.516 nε = 1.542
2V	N/A
Max Birefringence	δ = 0.026 (See colour chart at right)
Surface Relief	Low
Dispersion	N/A

Stichtite can be referenced in certain current and historical texts under the one name:

Chrom-Brugnatellite

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

Arabic		Bulgarian		Chinese (Sim)
Croatian		Czech		Danish
Dutch	stichtiet	Esperanto		Estonian
Finnish		French		German	Stichtit
Greek		Hebrew		Hungarian
Italian		Japanese		Korean
Latin		Lithuanian		Norwegian
Persian		Polish	stichtyt	Portuguese
Romanian		Russian		Slovak
Spanish	Stichtita	Swedish		Tagalog
Turkish		Ukrainian		Vietnamese

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 stichtite identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

What's this? This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to MIROFOSS articles. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by smart phone cameras. This QR Code is unique to this MIROFOSS article. What can I do with it? You can copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, web site, magazines, or newspaper so smart phone users can scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to this specific article.

Chemical Composition	Ashwal, L.D., and Cairncross, B. (1997): Mineralogy and origin of stichtite in chromite-bearing serpentinites. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 127, 75-86.
Crystallography	Mills, S. J., Whitfield, P. S., Wilson, S. A., Woodhouse, J. A., Dipple, G. M., Raudsepp, M. & Francis, C. A. (2011) The crystal structure of stitchtite, re-examination of barbertonite and the nature of polytypism in MgCr hydrotalcites. American Mineralogist, 96(1), 179–187.
History	Palache, Charles, Harry Berman & Clifford Frondel (1944), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana Yale University 1837-1892, Volume I: Elements, Sulfides, Sulfosalts, Oxides. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 7th edition, revised and enlarged: 655-656.
Geograpcial Data	Mindat.org. Retrieved on 2012-02-21
Physical Identification	Webmineral.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-21.
October 05, 2013	The last time this page was updated
©2017 MIROFOSS™ Foundation