It is brucite's structure that is interesting. The basic structure forms stacked sheets of octahedrons of magnesium hydroxide. Each hydroxide is bonded to three magnesiums. The sheets are only held together by weak residual bonds and this results in a very soft easily cleaved mineral. Brucite is interesting for another reason because it is often found as a part of the structure of other minerals.
Color is white or colorless with shades of gray, blue and green.
Transparency Crystals are translucent and rarely transparent. Crystal Habit is typically in flattened tabular crystals with rare rhombohedral terminations. Also found in lamellar and fibrous aggregates and as foliated masses. Brucite has been known to pseudomorph crystals of periclase . Cleavage is perfect in one direction, basal.