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Seraphinite

Seraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group. Seraphinite apparently acquired its name due to its resemblance to feathers due to its chatoyancy. Seraphinite is named after the biblical seraphs or seraphim angels. With some specimens the resemblance is quite strong, with shorter down-like feathery growths leading into longer "flight feathers"; the resemblance even spurs fanciful marketing phrases like "silver plume seraphinite." Seraphinite is generally dark green to gray in color, has chatoyancy, and has hardness between 2 and 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Seraphinite is mined in a limited area of eastern Siberia in Russia. Russian mineralogist Nikolay Koksharov (1818-1892 or 1893) is often credited with its discovery. It occurs in the Korshunovskoye iron skarn deposit in the Irkutskaya Oblast of Eastern Siberia.

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Article summary

Seraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group. Seraphinite apparently acquired its name due to its resemblance to feathers due to its chatoyancy. Seraphinite is named after the biblical seraphs or seraphim angels. With some specimens the resemblance is quite strong, with shorter down-like feathery growths leading into longer "flight feathers"; the resemblance even spurs fanciful marketing phrases like "silver plume seraphinite." Seraphinite is generally dark green to gray in color, has chatoyancy, and has hardness between 2 and 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Seraphinite is mined in a limited area of eastern Siberia in Russia. Russian mineralogist Nikolay Koksharov (1818-1892 or 1893) is often credited with its discovery. It occurs in the Korshunovskoye iron skarn deposit in the Irkutskaya Oblast of Eastern Siberia.

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  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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