nemalite

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)A variety of brucite, occurring in slender fibers which are elastic and easily separated, having a color of white with a shade of yellow and a highly silky luster.

   “In the mineral kingdom [Magnesium] is found in a native state, combined with water, though this is not a common mineral. The siliceous hydrate, or nemalite, is still rarer. The carbonate is far more common;[…].”

   “The specimens examined by me had the ordinary external characters of nemalite, consisting of adhering fibres of a fine silky lustre, and white colour, with a shade of yellow and partial slight blue or green tinge.”

   “Several thousand specimens have been quarried from the serpentine and trap Ridges in New Jersey, under the direction of Professor Leeds of the Stevens Institute. They consist of nemalites, occurring in translucent masses made up of long, silky fibers;[…].”

   “As nemalite and chrysotile are usually found under similar conditions—in the form of veins traversing serpentine—it seems not unnatural that the two allied magnesian fibrous minerals should co-exist intimately mixed in the same vein,[…].”