Braunite - Mn²⁺Mn³⁺₆O₈SiO₄

Habit: Brownish black to steel gray pyramidal crystals, also granular, massive. Opaque, subMetallic Luster. Weakly magnetic.

Environment: Formed by metamorphism of manganese silicates and oxides; also a product of weathering, associated with pyrolusite, hausmannite, jacobsite, bixbyite, rhodonite, spessartine and hematite.

Etymology: Named for Kammerrat Wilhelm Braun (1790-1872) of Gotha, Germany