Garnets are a group of minerals with a wide range of compositions and some degree of structural differences. All are members of the nesosilicate family and have unitetrahedral silicate backbone structures. Charge balance is achieved by the presence of other cations, such as Fe, Mn, and Mg, in octahedral coordination.

Distribution

Garnets are common worldwide and most often found in metamorphic rock, and to a lesser extent, igneous rock. Some garnets are used as gemstones.

Armbruster, T., C.A. Geiger and G.A. Lager. 1992. Single-crystal X-ray structure study of synthetic pyrope almandine garnets at 100 and 293K. American Mineralogist. 77:512-521.