Jennite occurs as an alteration mineral in metamorphosedlimestone and skarn.[3] It typically occurs as vein and open space fillings as a late mineral phase.[5] It also occurs in hydrated cement paste.
A first specimen of jennite found in 1966 at the Crestmore quarries (Crestmore, Riverside County, California, US) was analysed and identified as a new mineral by Carpenter in 1966 (Carpenter, 1966). They named it in honor of its discoverer: Clarence Marvin Jenni (1896–1973) director of the Geological Museum at the University of Missouri.[3]
In contrast to the first analysis made by Carpenter, jennite was found to not contain appreciable amount of sodium when the Crestmore specimen was reexamined.[6]
The structure of jennite is made of three distinct modules: ribbons of edge-sharing calciumoctahedra, silicate chains of wollastonite-type running along the b axis, and additional calcium octahedra on inversion centers. The hydroxyl groups are bonded to three calcium cations while no SiOH groups are observed.[7]
Jennite transforms to metajennite at 70–90°C (158–194°F) by losing four water molecules.[6]
Jennite is often used in thermodynamical calculations to represent the pole of the less evolved calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H). The value of its atomic Ca/Si or molecular CaO/SiO2 (C/S) ratio is 1.50 (9/6), as directly calculated from its elementary composition formula. Tobermorite represents the more evolved pole with a C/S ratio of 0.83 (5/6).
12Gard, J.A.; Taylor, H.F.W.; Cliff, G.; Lorimer, G.W. (1977), "A reexamination of jennite"(PDF), American Mineralogist, vol.62, pp.365–368, retrieved 2009-02-04
↑Carpenter, A.B.; Chalmers, R.A.; Gard, J.A.; Speakman, K.; Taylor, H.F.W. (1966), "Jennite, a new mineral"(PDF), American Mineralogist, vol.51, pp.56–74, retrieved 2009-02-04
Bibliography
Abdul-Jaber, Q.H.; Khoury, H. (1998), "Unusual mineralisation in the Maqarin Area (North Jordan) and the occurrence of some rare minerals in the marbles and the weathered rocks", Neues Jahrb. Geol. Paläontol. Abh., vol.208, pp.603–629
