Talc : CSIRO Spectroscopy Database

Talc [ Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂ ]

Images of Talc

Photograph of a specimen of talc and tremolite from Arnold Pit, Balmat Mine, St Lawrence Co., New York. Size: 10cm

Photo (C) 2003 James O. Hamblen (http://hamblen.ece.gatech.edu/uvminerals/). Reproduced with permission.

Shortwave UV photoluminescence image of a specimen of talc (yellow PL) and tremolite (orange PL) from Arnold Pit, Balmat Mine, St Lawrence Co., New York. Size: 10cm

Photo (C) 2003 James O. Hamblen (http://hamblen.ece.gatech.edu/uvminerals/). Reproduced with permission.

Image of a specimen of Talc from Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

Photograph by Frank Coffa, Museums Victoria, CC-BY

Material properties

Formula	Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂
Abbreviation	Tlc
Classifications	Minerals containing OH, Clay
Luminescence emitters	M3OH, M[n]OH, OH, RSC, Si-O, Triplet-singlet
Spectra	Reflectance (3)
IMA Status	Grandfathered (pre-IMA), antiquity
Search other databases	webmineral.com, mindat.org, rruf.info, mineralienatlas.de, Handbook of Mineralogy, American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database
Crystal symmetry	Monoclinic, Point group 2/m, Space group C2/c (#15)
Tags	Mineral, Silicate , Hydroxide

Composition

Element	Atoms
O	12
H	2
Si	4
Mg	3
Total:	21

References for Talc

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Laukamp et al. 2021

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Pejcic et al. 2021 (EP2021-1148)

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CSIRO Reflectance (2025)

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Tarashchan 1978

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Specimens of Talc

Name	Owner	Materials	Phase purity	Image	Spectra	Techniques
M1653 Talc	CSIRO	Talc (100.0%)	100.0	M1653 Talc Image of Talc [ Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 ] in specimen 'M1653 Talc' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	1	Reflectance
MES199 Talc	CSIRO	Clinochlore, Fe, Talc (99.0%)	99.0	MES199 Talc Image of Talc and Clinochlore (var. Fe) in specimen 'MES199 Talc' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	1	Reflectance
TS01 Talc	CSIRO	Clinochlore, Fe, Corundum, Talc (78.0%)	78.0	TS01 Talc Image of Talc, Clinochlore (var. Fe) and Corundum in specimen 'TS01 Talc' [CSIRO], from Three Springs, Shire of Three Springs, Mid West Region, WA, Australia. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	1	Reflectance
MT7375 Serpentine	CSIRO	Dolomite, Lizardite, Magnesite, Serpentine (subgroup), Talc (51.1%)	51.1	MT7375 Serpentine Image of specimen 'MT7375 Serpentine' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	0	—
NR_Act_1 Actinolite	CSIRO	Albite, Clinochlore, Fe, Hematite, Muscovite-2M1, Quartz, Talc (48.0%), Tremolite	48.0	NR_Act_1 Actinolite Image of specimen 'NR_Act_1 Actinolite' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	0	—
M1109 Diopside	CSIRO	Diopside, Quartz, Talc (15.0%), Tremolite	15.0	M1109 Diopside Image of Diopside, Quartz, Talc and Tremolite in specimen 'M1109 Diopside' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	0	—
NR41 Enstatite	CSIRO	Clinoenstatite, Enstatite, Lizardite, Talc (10.3%)	10.3	NR41 Enstatite Image of specimen 'NR41 Enstatite' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	0	—
M2469 Enstatite	CSIRO	Clinoenstatite, Enstatite, Lizardite, Talc (4.0%)	4.0	M2469 Enstatite Image of Enstatite, Clinoenstatite, Lizardite and Talc in specimen 'M2469 Enstatite' [CSIRO]. (C) 2026 CSIRO Mineral Resources. All rights reserved.	0	—
Talc (New York)	Hamblen, Prof James O., Georgia Tech	Talc, Tremolite	—	Talc (New York) Photograph of a specimen of talc and tremolite from Arnold Pit, Balmat Mine, St Lawrence Co., New York. Size: 10cm Photo (C) 2003 James O. Hamblen (http://hamblen.ece.gatech.edu/uvminerals/). Reproduced with permission.	0	—