Dmisteinbergite
Dmisteinbergite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula Ca(Al₂Si₂O₈).
It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system (space group P6_3/mcm). It is a member of the Dmisteinbergite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 6; specific gravity 2.747; optically uniaxial.
IMA symbol Dsb, IMA status: approved, named in 1989.
An ultra-refractory mineral in a rounded, coarse-grained, igneous Type B2 Ca-Al-rich inclusion (CAI) in a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite, formed early as a high-temperature condensate in the solar nebula. From burned coal dumps (Russia).
It is found associated with Gehlenitic melilite, Al-Ti-diopside, spinel, anorthite (meteorites); cordierite, mullite, anorthite, wollastonite, tridymite, fayalite, fassaite.
The mineral was named to honor Dmitrii Sergeevich Steinberg (b. 1910), noted petrologist, Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Yekaterinberg, Russia.