Gabariite

Gabariite is a relatively rare mineral of manganese, its composition is typically represented by the chemical formula MnTiO3. It is a oxide mineral and is one of the manganite series of minerals, characterized by the presence of manganese and titanium in its chemical structure.

Gabariite was first described in 1956 and is named after the Gabar locality in the Nouméa commune of New Caledonia, where it was found in association with other manganese minerals. It is a product of the weathering of these minerals and forms as a secondary mineral.

Gabariite typically occurs in a combination of tetragonal and monoclinic crystal systems, where the main crystal faces are often elongated and edge-petaled. Its visual appearance can range from greenish to a deep earthy brown, depending on the proportion of manganese and titanium present in the mineral.

It is due to its low hardness (approximately 5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale) and fast dissolution in water that gabariite is usually unstable and tends to degrade over time. As a result, it is relatively scarce in nature and harder to preserve in collections.

Gabariite is often found as a replacement or pseudomorph of other minerals such as sanidine or crednerite, which were initially composed of different chemical elements that involved the introduction of manganese. Its rarity and uniqueness among other manganese-bearing minerals are both due to its specific weathering processes and to the general properties of the specific chemical compound.