Chromite

This article is a chemistry stub. You can help Lunarpedia by expanding it.

Chemical Name:	Iron Chromium Oxide
Chemical Formula:	FeCr2O4

This is the most important ore of chromium, the element from which chromite derives its name. Chromite is found in ultra-mafic rocks and forms in deep ultra-mafic magmas where it is one of the first minerals to crystallize. While the magma slowly cools, chromite crystals "snow" into concentrated areas near the bottom due to their higher density. Chromite is resistant to the altering effects of high pressures and temperatures and is used as a refractory component in the bricks and linings of blast furnaces.
Magnesium is present in all natural chromites and sometimes replaces the iron to form the much rarer mineral magnesiochromite. All magnesiochromites contain some iron and both minerals form a series between them. Geologic surveys of the moon have located large deposits of chromite on the Sinus Aestuum, covering an area thousands of square kilometers in size .