Kanoite exhibited at the Mining Museum of Akita University — Photo: 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kanoite
A light pinkish-brown manganese-magnesium pyroxene of metamorphic rocks — a clinopyroxene named for geologist Hiroshi Kano.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Kanoite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula MnMgSi₂O₆.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group P2_1/c). It is a member of the Pyroxene structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 6; specific gravity 3.66; White streak; Vitreous luster; refractive index 1.719; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Knt, IMA status: approved, named in 1977.
Found in a seam cutting a pyroxmangite-cummingtonite metamorphic rock.
It is found associated with Spessartine, manganoan cummingtonite, pyroxmangite.
The mineral was named to honor Dr. Hiroshi Kano, Professor of Petrology, Akita University, Akita, Japan.