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MAGNESITE

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 319 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MAGNESITE , a See also:

mineral consisting of See also:magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, and belonging to the See also:calcite See also:group of See also:rhombohedral See also:carbonates. It is rarely found in crystals or crystalline masses, being usually compact or earthy and intermixed with more or less hydrous magnesium silicate (See also:meerschaum). The compact material has' the See also:appearance of unglazed See also:porcelain, and the earthy that of See also:chalk. In See also:colour it is usually dead See also:white, some-times yellowish. The hardness of the crystallized mineral is 4; sp. gr. 3.1. The name magnesite as originally applied by J. C. Delametherie in 1797 included several minerals containing magnesium, and at the See also:present See also:day it is used by See also:French writers for meerschaum. The mineral has also been called baudisserite from the locality Baudissero near See also:Ivrea in See also:Piedmont. Breunnerite is a ferriferous variety. Magnesite is a product of alteration of magnesium silicates, and occurs as See also:veins and patches in See also:serpentine, See also:talc-schist or See also:dolomite-See also:rock.

It is extensively See also:

mined in the See also:island of See also:Euboea in the Grecian See also:Archipelago, near See also:Salem in See also:Madras, and in See also:California, U.S.A. It is principally used for the manufacture of highly refractory See also:fire-bricks for lining See also:steel furnaces and electric furnaces; also for making See also:plaster, tiles and artificial See also:stone; for the preparation of magnesium salts (See also:Epsom salts, &c.); for whitening See also:paper-pulp and See also:wool; and as a paint.

End of Article: MAGNESITE

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