Antlerite
| Antlerite | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General and classification | |
| other names |
|
| chemical formula | Cu 3 (SO 4 ) (OH) 4 |
|
Mineral class (and possibly department) |
Sulfates (and relatives) |
|
System no. to Strunz and to Dana |
7.BB.15 ( 8th edition : VI / B.01) 01/30/12/01 |
| Similar minerals | Brochantite , Dolerophanite |
| Crystallographic Data | |
| Crystal system | orthorhombic |
| Crystal class ; symbol | orthorhombic-dipyramidal; 2 / m 2 / m 2 / m |
| Space group | Pnma (No. 62) |
| Lattice parameters | a = 8.224 Å ; b = 6.62 Å; c = 11.987 Å |
| Formula units | Z = 4 |
| Physical Properties | |
| Mohs hardness | 3 to 3.5 |
| Density (g / cm 3 ) | 3.8 to 3.9 |
| Cleavage | completely after {010} |
| Break ; Tenacity | uneven |
| colour | green, emerald green to black green, light green in fine crusts |
| Line color | pale green |
| transparency | translucent |
| shine | Glass gloss |
| Crystal optics | |
| Refractive indices |
n α = 1.726 n β = 1.738 n γ = 1.789 |
| Birefringence | δ = 0.063 |
| Optical character | biaxial positive |
| Axis angle | 2V = 53 ° |
| Pleochroism | vivid: yellow-green - blue-green - blue-green |
| Other properties | |
| Chemical behavior | soluble in dilute sulfuric acid |
Antlerite is a relatively rare mineral from the mineral class of " sulfates (and relatives)". It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system with the chemical composition Cu 3 (SO 4 ) (OH) 4 and develops mostly short, prismatic to needle-like crystals , but also crusty coatings and earthy aggregates of emerald to black-green color.
Etymology and history
Antlerite was found by Hillebrand in 1889 and named after the type locality , the Antler mine in Arizona . The mineral was found by Weisbach near Zwickau in 1886 and described under the name Arnimit. However, the agreement was not discovered due to inaccurate measurement methods. When a match between the two minerals was found on the basis of more detailed investigations, the name Antlerite was retained.
classification
In the now outdated, but still in use 8th edition of the mineral classification according to Strunz , the antlerite belonged to the mineral class of "sulfates, selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates, wolframates" and there to the department of "anhydrous sulfates with foreign anions ", where it belongs together formed the unnamed group VI / B.01 with brochantite and dolerophanite .
The 9th edition of Strunz's mineral systematics , which has been in effect since 2001 and is used by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), also assigns antlerite to the class of "sulfates (selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates and wolframates)" and there in the department of “Sulphates (selenates etc.) with additional anions, without H 2 O”. However, this section is further subdivided according to the relative size of the cations involved , so that the mineral can be found according to its composition in the sub-section “With medium-sized cations”, where it is the only member of the unnamed group 7.BB.15 .
The systematics of minerals according to Dana , which is mainly used in the English-speaking world , assigns the antlerite to the class of "sulfates, chromates and molybdates" and there in the category of "anhydrous sulfates with hydroxyl or halogen". Here he is the only member of the unnamed group 01/30/12 within the subdivision of “ Anhydrous sulfates with hydroxyl or halogen and (AB) m (XO 4 ) p Z q , with m: p> 2: 1 ”.
Crystal structure
Antlerite crystallizes in an orthorhombic crystal system in the space group Pnma (space group no. 62) with the lattice constants a = 822.4 pm, b = 662 pm and c = 1198.7 pm as well as four formula units per unit cell .
Modifications and varieties
As Vernadskyit one is Pseudomorphose of Antlerit after Dolerophanit referred.
Education and Locations
Antlerite forms secondarily under acidic conditions in the oxidation zone of copper deposits . These conditions prevail above all in an arid climate, under which antlerite predominantly forms, but also in the slag of ancient copper works. Antlerite is accompanied by other secondary copper minerals such as atacamite , brochantite , chalcanthite , krohnkite , linarite and natrochalcite .
Many sites are known. The largest are in Chile , in the Chuquicamata mine there, antlerite is even the main ore. In addition, finds are known in many US states (mainly Arizona , Nevada , Utah ), Australia and Europe (including France , Greece and Italy ). Finds are also known in Germany (including in the Black Forest and the Ore Mountains ), Austria ( Salzburg , Tyrol , Carinthia , Styria ) and Switzerland ( Valais ).
use
Antlerite is a possible raw material for copper extraction.
See also
literature
- Antlerite , In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Eds.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America , 2001 ( PDF 65 kB )
- Friedrich Klockmann : Klockmann's textbook of mineralogy . Ed .: Paul Ramdohr , Hugo Strunz . 16th edition. Enke, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-432-82986-8 , pp. 601 (first edition: 1891).
- Petr Korbel, Milan Novák: Encyclopedia of Minerals . Dörfler Verlag GmbH, Eggolsheim 2002, ISBN 978-3-89555-076-8 , p. 139 .
Web links
- Mineral Atlas: Antlerite (Wiki)
- RRUFF Database-of-Raman-spectroscopy - Antlerite
- American-Mineralogist-Crystal-Structure-Database - Antlerite
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Mindat - Antlerite (English)
- ↑ a b Webmineral - Antlerite (English)
- ↑ a b c R. Rama Subba Reddy, S. Lakshmi Reddy, G. Siva Reddy, BJ Reddy: Spectral Studies of Divalent Copper in Antlerite Mineral. In: Cryst. Res. Technol., 2002, 37, 5, pp. 485-490.
- ↑ P. Kokkoros: Antlerite from Lavrion. Possible identity of the arnimite with antlerite. In: Mineralogy and Petrology, 1953, 3, 4, pp. 295-297 doi : 10.1007 / BF01135345 .
- ↑ Stefan Weiß: The large Lapis mineral directory. All minerals from A - Z and their properties . 5th completely revised and supplemented edition. Weise, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-921656-70-9 .
- ↑ Find location list for antlerite in the Mineralienatlas and Mindat