Yellow crystals of this rare tin silicate mineral from Red-a-Ven Mine, Okehampton, Devon, United Kingdom. — Photo: David Hospital · CC BY-SA 4.0
Malayaite
A calcium-tin silicate of the titanite group — the tin analogue of titanite.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Malayaite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula CaSnO(SiO₄).
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group A2/a). It is a member of the Titanite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 6–7; specific gravity 4.3; typically yellow or orange; white streak; Resinous luster; refractive index 1.783; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Mly, IMA status: approved, named in 1964.
Found in tin-rich contact metamorphic skarn deposits, probably a hydrothermal alteration product of cassiterite or other tin-bearing minerals.
It is found associated with Cassiterite, quartz, calcite, wollastonite, pyroxene, garnet.
The name refers to the localities in Malaya, Malaysia.
Collections: Collector Favorites, Rare & Remarkable.