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LITHOEN

Mineral

Calcite

The commonest carbonate mineral and the principal constituent of limestone. Its solubility depends on the acidity of the water it meets, which makes it the mineral through which carbon moves between rock and ocean.

Colourless to pale calcite crystals showing rhombohedral faces.
Calcite, the commonest carbonate mineral and the principal constituent of limestone. Its solubility depends on the acidity of the water it meets, which is what makes it the mineral through which carbon moves between rock and ocean.

Daniel Ventura, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC-BY-SA-3.0 · source · Derivative: Downscaled to 1000 px wide by the Wikimedia thumbnail service; no cropping, no colour or content alteration.

Classification

formula
Ca(CO3)
ima status
grandfathered
crystal system
trigonal

How this record is known

3
Settled consensus
Cited as the accepted position of the discipline.

3 of 3 claims on this page cite at least one registered source. Counts describe how each statement is known, not how likely it is to be true.

What Lithoen records

Each claim states how it is known and cites its evidence.

EstablishedHexagonal

The Handbook of Mineralogy records the crystal data of calcite as hexagonal.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Mineral Data Publishing 2001 Institutional reference

Established2.7102 g/cm3

The Handbook of Mineralogy gives a measured density for calcite of 2.7102 g/cm3.

  • precision note: A reference value from a compiled data sheet, and for several species the midpoint or single figure of a published range.
  • method: Compiled from published measurements; Lithoen holds no measurement of its own.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Mineral Data Publishing 2001 Institutional reference

EstablishedCa(CO3)

Calcite is an accepted mineral species in the IMA List of Minerals, with the CNMNC-approved formula Ca(CO3) and IMA status “grandfathered”.

  • definition basis: IMA List of Minerals, September 2026 update, which is the authority on mineral species status.
  • precision note: An approved formula is an idealised composition; natural crystals of most species depart from it through substitution.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, International Mineralogical Association 2026 Primary authority

In the knowledge graph

  • Calcite has essential constituent Calcium
  • Calcite has essential constituent Carbon
  • Calcite has essential constituent Oxygen

Figures

Black metallic magnetite crystals set among white calcite.
Magnetite crystals with calcite, from Vyhne, Slovakia. Magnetite carries iron in two oxidation states at once — its approved formula is Fe2+Fe3+2O4 — which is why it is both strongly magnetic and a sensitive recorder of redox conditions. Locality: Vyhne, Slovakia.

Mineralysk, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · source · Derivative: Downscaled to 1000 px wide by the Wikimedia thumbnail service; no cropping, no colour or content alteration.

Record last updated 2026-09-06. Corrections follow the published corrections policy; superseded claims are retained, never silently edited.