Chihuahuaite

FeAl12O19
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Cih
IMA approved
2009
Also known as
  • Chihuahuaiet
  • IMA2009-027

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

A highly altered Ca-,Al-rich refractory inclusion from the Allende meteorite.

Type locality
Allende meteorite
  1. Pueblito de Allende
  2. Chihuahua
  3. Mexico

26.9667°, -105.3167°

1recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Physical

Density
3.61 g/cm³

Crystallography

Crystal system
Hexagonal
Space group
P63/mmc
Cell parameters
a = 5.613 Å · c = 22.285 Å
Z
2
Type-locality form

scattered micrometer-sized single crystals within an aggregate of hercynite

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
13AlAluminiumAluminium1226.982323.784
47.36%
8OOxygenOxygen1915.999303.981
44.47%
26FeIronIron155.84555.845
8.17%
Total683.610100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • Chihuahuaiet
  • IMA2009-027

In other languages

German
Chihuahuait · Hibonit-(Fe) · IMA 2009-027
Italian
hibonite-(Fe)

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

4.CC.45

  • 4OxidesClass
  • 4.CMetal: Oxygen = 2: 3,3: 5, and similarDivision
  • 4.CCWith large and medium-sized cationsGroup
  • 4.CC.45ChihuahuaiteSpecies
Dana
8th ed.

07.04.03.03

  • 07Multiple OxidesClass
  • 07.04AB12X19Type
  • 07.04.03— unnamed intermediate level —Group
  • 07.04.03.03ChihuahuaiteSpecies

Group, growth & confusion

In the same group
2 members

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 2010Ma, C. (2010) Hibonite-(Fe), (Fe,Mg)Al12O19, a new alteration mineral from the Allende meteorite. American Mineralogist, 95 (1) 188-191 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3365 DOI: 10.2138/am.2010.3365
  2. 2019Miyawaki, Ritsuro, Hatert, Frédéric, Pasero, Marco, Mills, Stuart J. (2019) CNMNC Newsletter No 50, New minerals and nomenclature modifications approved in 2019. Mineralogical Magazine, 83 (4) 615-620 doi:10.1180/mgm.2019.46DOI: 10.1180/mgm.2019.46
  3. 2020Holtstam, Dan, Hålenius, Ulf (2020) Nomenclature of the magnetoplumbite group. Mineralogical Magazine, 84 (3) 376-380 doi:10.1180/mgm.2020.20DOI: 10.1180/mgm.2020.20
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Chihuahuaite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/chihuahuaite-39561},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}