White crystal aggregates of the extremely rare organic mineral simonellite from the type and only known locality worldwide in Italy: Fognano, Montepulciano, Siena Province, Tuscany. Ex Vandenbroucke Museum collection from Waregem, Belgium. — Photo: David Hospital · CC BY-SA 4.0
Simonellite
An organic mineral — a hydrocarbon derived from conifer-resin diterpenes.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Simonellite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the organic mineral class, with the chemical formula C₁₉H₂₄.
It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system (space group Pnaa).
Key properties: specific gravity 1.08.
IMA symbol Sne, grandfathered status — known before the IMA’s founding, named in 1919.
Found in lignite, apparently derived from coniferous forests.
The mineral was named to honor Professor Vittorio Simonelli (1860–1929), Italian geologist, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, who discovered the mineral.