Magnesite
MAGNESITE, a mineral consisting of magnesium carbonate, MgCO 3 , and belonging to the calcite group of rhombohedral carbonates. It is rarely found in crystals or crystalline masses, being usually compact or earthy and intermixed with more or less hydrous magnesium silicate (meerschaum). The compact material has the appearance of unglazed porcelain, and the earthy that of chalk. In colour it is usually dead white, sometimes yellowish. The hardness of the crystallized mineral is 4; sp. gr. 3-1. The name magnesite as originally applied by J. C. Delametherie in 1797 included several minerals containing magnesium, and at the present day it is used by French writers for meerschaum. The mineral has also been called baudisserite from the locality Baudissero near Ivrea in Piedmont. Breunnerite is a ferriferous variety.
Magnesite is a product of alteration of magnesium silicates, and occurs as veins and patches in serpentine, talc-schist or dolomiterock. It is extensively mined in the island of Euboea in the Grecian Archipelago, near Salem in Madras, and in California, U.S.A. It is principally used for the manufacture of highly refractory firebricks for lining steel furnaces and electric furnaces; also for making plaster, tiles and artificial stone; for the preparation of magnesium salts (Epsom salts, etc.) ; for whitening paper-pulp and wool ; and as a paint.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
