Mössbauerite

Fe3+6O4(OH)8(CO3) · 3H2O
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Msb
IMA approved
2012
Also known as
  • IMA2012-049
  • Moessbauerite
  • Mössbaueriet

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

Intimately intergrown with trébeurdenite, was discovered in intertidal gleys from Mont Saint-Michel Bay, France.

Type locality
Mont Saint-Michel marshes
  1. Le Mont-Saint-Michel
  2. Avranches
  3. Manche
  4. Normandy
  5. France

48.6224°, -1.5199°

8recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Physical

Hardness
123456789102 – 3/ 10 MOHS
  1. 1Talc
  2. 2Gypsum
  3. 3Calcite
  4. 4Fluorite
  5. 5Apatite
  6. 6Orthoclase
  7. 7Quartz
  8. 8Topaz
  9. 9Corundum
  10. 10Diamond
Transparency
Opaque
Colour
Blue-green

Pure synthetic mössbauerite is orange in colour

Tenacity
sectile
Cleavage
Perfect

(0001) ideally

Density
2.950 g/cm³

Crystallography

Crystal system
Trigonal
Cell parameters
a = 3.032(7) Å · b = 3.079 Å · c = 22.258(4) Å
Ratio a:b:c
1 : 1.016 : 7.341
Type-locality form

As μm-scale platelets in gleys with restricted access to atmospheric O.

Comment

Possible space group: P3İm1 and P3m1

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
26FeIronIron655.845335.070
51.62%
8OOxygenOxygen1815.999287.982
44.36%
1HHydrogenHydrogen141.00814.112
2.17%
6CCarbonCarbon112.01112.011
1.85%
Total649.175100.00%

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

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • IMA2012-049
  • Moessbauerite
  • Mössbaueriet

In other languages

German
IMA 2012-049 · Mössbauerit
Italian
mössbauerite

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

4.FL.05

  • 4OxidesClass
  • 4.FHydroxides (without V or U)Division
  • 4.FLHydroxides with H2O +- (OH); sheets of edge-sharing octahedraGroup
  • 4.FL.05MössbaueriteSpecies

Group, growth & confusion

In the same group
2 members

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 2012Génin, Jean-Marie R.; Guérin, O.; Herbillon, A. J.; Kuzmann, E.; Mills, S. J.; Morin, G.; Ona-Nguema, G.; Ruby, C.; Upadhyay, C. (2012) Redox topotactic reactions in Fe II −  III (oxy)hydroxycarbonate new minerals related to fougèrite in gleysols: “trébeurdenite and mössbauerite”. Hyperfine Interactions, 204 (1-3). 71-81 doi:10.1007/s10751-011-0500-8DOI: 10.1007/s10751-011-0500-8
  2. 2012Mills, S. J.; Christy, A. G.; Génin, J.-M. R.; Kameda, T.; Colombo, F. (2012) Nomenclature of the hydrotalcite supergroup: natural layered double hydroxides. Mineralogical Magazine, 76 (5). 1289-1336 doi:10.1180/minmag.2012.076.5.10DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2012.076.5.10
  3. 2013Génin, J.-M.R. (2013) From fougèrite to mössbauerite through trébeurdenite; redox reactions in gleysols and role of bacteria. Mössbauer Effect Reference Data Journal: 36(6): 113-160.
  4. 2013Williams, P. A., Hatert, F., Pasero, M., Mills, S. J. (2013) IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification. CNMNC Newsletter No. 15. Mineralogical Magazine, 77 (1) 1-12 doi:10.1180/minmag.2013.077.1.01DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2013.077.1.01
  5. 2014Génin, J.-M. R., Mills, S. J., Christy, A. G., Guérin, O., Herbillon, A. J., Kuzmann, E., Ona-Nguema, G., Ruby, C., Upadhyay, C. (2014) Mössbauerite, Fe63+O4(OH)8[CO3]·3H2O, the fully oxidized ‘green rust’ mineral from Mont Saint-Michel Bay, France. Mineralogical Magazine, 78 (2) 447-465 doi:10.1180/minmag.2014.078.2.14 DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2014.078.2.14
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Mössbauerite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/mossbauerite-43298},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}