Hydrophilite

Hydrophilite (CaCl₂) is a white mineral formed from anhydrous calcium chloride. It is very soft and it forms crystal structures that are not used as gems. In Alaska, hydrophilite is spread on dirt roads to reduce dust. Hydrophilite crystallizes in the form of encrustations and as crystals configrued similar to cubes. The crystal symmetry is orthorhombic, symbol (2/m 2/m 2/m), space group Pnnm. Density is 2.22 g/cm³.

References

* Hydrophilite Mineral Data, webmineral.com
* Hydrophilite, mindat.org
* Hydrophilite, Institute of Experimental Mineralogy, Russia

List of minerals