Donwilhelmsite

CaAl4Si2O11
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Dwh
IMA approved
2019
Also known as
  • Donwilhelmsiet
  • IMA2018-113

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

Lunar meteorite.

Probably occurs in the uppermost lower mantle (460–700 km)

Type locality
Oued Awlitis 001 Lunar meteorite
  1. Jraifia Cercle
  2. Boujdour Province
  3. Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra Region
  4. Morocco

25.4992°, -12.8820°

2recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Crystallography

Crystal system
Hexagonal
Space group
P63/mmc
Cell parameters
a = 5.44(1) Å · c = 12.76(3) Å
Z
2
Type-locality form

Shock melt pockets 100 µm in size of roughly anorthitic chemical composition contain bundles of up to 20 µm long and less than 1 µm wide needle-shaped crystals.

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
8OOxygenOxygen1115.999175.989
46.29%
13AlAluminiumAluminium426.982107.928
28.39%
14SiSiliconSilicon228.08556.170
14.78%
20CaCalciumCalcium140.07840.078
10.54%
Total380.165100.00%

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

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • Donwilhelmsiet
  • IMA2018-113

In other languages

German
Donwilhelmsit · IMA 2018-113

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

9.HA.37

  • 9SilicatesClass
  • 9.HUnclassified silicatesDivision
  • 9.HAWith Alkali and Alkali-earth ElementsGroup
  • 9.HA.37DonwilhelmsiteSpecies

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. —Spray, J.G., Tschauner, O., Ma, C., Thompson, L.M., Hopkins, R.H. (2023): In situ shock veins on Earth: Donwilhelmsite, maskelynite, stishovite, stöfflerite, tissintite (and more) from the Manicouagan impact structure. 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Abstract #1307.
  2. 2019Klementova, M., Palatinus, L., Fritz, J., Greshake, A., Wirth, R., Fernandes, V. A., Ferrière, L. (2019). Application of Electron Diffraction Tomography: Donwilhelmsite-a New Mineral from the Moon. APCOM 2019 [http://kf.elf.stuba.sk/~apcom/apcom19/sprogram/pdf/Klementova.pdf]
  3. 2019Miyawaki, Ritsuro, Hålenius, Ulf, Hatert, Frédéric, Pasero, Marco, Mills, Stuart J. (2019) IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) NEWSLETTER 47. European Journal of Mineralogy, 31 (1) 197-202 doi:10.1127/ejm/2019/0031-2839DOI: 10.1127/ejm/2019/0031-2839
  4. 2019Klementova, Mariana, Palatinus, Lukas, Fritz, Jörg, Greshake, Ansgar, Wirth, Richard, Assis Fernandes, Vera, Ferrière, Ludovic (2019) Structure Determination of Donwilhelmsite by Electron Diffraction Tomography. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 25. 2450-2451 doi:10.1017/s1431927619012984DOI: 10.1017/s1431927619012984
  5. 2020(2020) Donwilhelmsite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Donwilhelmsite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/donwilhelmsite-53358},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}