Handan iron mine, Wu'an Co., Handan, Hebei, China

CaMgSi₂O₆

Crystal System: monoclinic
Colour: light to dark green, blue, brown, colourless, snow white or grey
Lustre: vitreous, dull
Habitus: prismatic
Hardness: 5½ - 6½
Fracture: irregular/uneven, conchoidal
Cleavage: distinct/good on {110}
Density:  3.278 g/cm³ 
Origin and geological occurrence: t occurs typically in metamorphic rocks, rich in Ca and Mg, of the pyroxene-hornfels or epidote-amphibolite facies. It is common in skarns, (Ca,Mg)-rich gneisses and schists, in some kimberlites and peridotites. Uncommon in alkali olivine basalts and andesites.

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Samples:

	9D.5 Diopside Prismatic euhedral crystals of diopside.   #inosilicates
	9D.3 Diallage  Prismatic crystals of diopside var. diallage in gabbro. #inosilicates