Black metallic microcrystals of the extremely rare Mg-Ti oxide mineral qandilite from the type locality in Iraq (Dupezeh Mountain, Hero, Qala-Diz, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq) in a whitish contrasting matrix. Ex Vandenbroucke Museum collection from Waregem, Belgium. — Photo: David Hospital · CC BY-SA 4.0
Qandilite
Qandilite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the oxides & hydroxide class, with the chemical formula (Mg,Fe³⁺)₂(Ti,Fe³⁺,Al)O₄.
It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system (space group Fd3m). It is a member of the Spinel structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 7; specific gravity 4.03–4.08; Black streak; Metallic luster.
IMA symbol Qnd, IMA status: approved, named in 1980.
Found in a forsterite skarn (Dupezeh Mountain, Iraq); in a periclase-forsterite skarn (Kangerdlugssuaq, Greenland); in the contact zone of an alkaline ultramafic massif (Konder massif, Russia).
It is found associated with Forsterite, spinel, perovskite, calcite (Dupezeh Mountain, Iraq); geikielite, spinel, periclase, forsterite (Konder massif, Russia).
The name refers to the occurrence in rocks of the Qandil Group, Iraq.