Bluebellite

Last updated
Bluebellite
General
Categoryiodate
Formula
(repeating unit)
Cu6[(I5+O3)(OH)3](OH)7Cl
IMA symbol Bbl [1]
Crystal system Trigonal
Crystal class Pyramidal (3)
Space group R3
Unit cell a = 8.3017(5)Å, c = 13.259(1) Å V = 791.4 Å
Identification
ColorBright bluish-green
Cleavage perfect on (001)
Fracture Irregular/Uneven
Tenacity Sectile
Mohs scale hardness1
Luster Adamantine
Streak Pale bluish-green
Specific gravity 4.746
Density calculated- 4.746g/cm3
Optical propertiesUniaxial (-) δ = 1.96
Pleochroism Visible
Other characteristicsVery similar to Mojaveite
References [2] [3] [4]

Bluebellite is a mineral discovered in 2013 in the Blue Bell Mine in the Mojave Desert, California at the same time as the discovery of mojaveite. This mineral was named after its locality, since the Blue Bell Mine claims most of the surrounding area. The only observed forms of this mineral are the {001} and {001}. Bluebellite is known to form bright bluish-green flattened plates or flakes that are range up to 20 x 20 x 5 nm in size, commonly inter-grown in irregular aggregates. Bluebellite and mojaveite are very similar in structure, they are only differentiated by their unique mineral composition. [2] [3]

Contents

Occurrence

Bluebellite was discovered within the D-shaft of the Bluebell mine in the Mojave Desert, California. The surrounding rock was composed of very siliceous hornfels along with murdochite, calcite, fluorite, and hemimorphite. This new mineral was discovered along with mojaveite within the Blue Bell area. [3]

Physical Properties

Bluebellite has an adamantine luster and has an overall bright bluish-green color. This sometimes has a dull appearance because of the roughness of the surface. It is very soft, a 1 on the Mohs hardness scale. Bluebellite has a pale blueish-green streak and has an uneven fracture. It has perfect cleavage along the {001} plane.

Chemical Properties

The IMA formula for bluebellite is Cu6(IO3)(OH)10Cl but the full chemical formula is Cu6[(I5+O3)(OH)3](OH)7Cl. Bluebellite is one of the three currently known copper iodate minerals, the other two are bellingerite and salesite. Mojaveite is similar but each have a unique combination of elements. [3] [2]

Methods

When analyzing bluebellite, single-crystal x-ray studies could not be used because of the poor quality of the crystals. Rigaku R-AXIS Rapid II curved imaging plate microdiffractometer was used to get the data for the powder XRD data. The data obtained was fit into a profile using JADE 2010 software. A JEOL8200 electron microscope was used to get the chemical data for the bluebellite. The electron microscope was a wave-length-dispersive spectroscopy mode, using a 20 nanometer beam. [4]

X-Ray Powder Diffraction

d-spacingIntensity
4.427(99)
2.664(35)
2.516(100)
2.213(9)
2.103(29)
1.899(47)
1.5663(48)
1.4788(29)

[2]

Chemical composition

Constituentwt%Range
CuO48.624781-50.47
Al2O230.120-0.23
SiO20.750.71-0.83
I2O517.2616.90-17.78
Cl4.063.99-4.14
H2Ocalc9.27-
O=Cl-0.92-
Total79.16-

[4]

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B
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Belloite is a Halide mineral first discovered in the Rio Tinto Mine in Sierra Gorda, Antofagasta, Chile in 1998. Belloite has the ideal chemical formula of Cu(OH)Cl. The mineral has been approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names, IMA, to be named belloite, after Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López, the founder of the Universidad de Chile. Samples of belloite are preserved in the collection of the Mineralogical Museum in Hamburg, Germany.

Sabelliite is a mineral that was first discovered at the Is Murvonis Mine in Dosmusnovas, Sardinia. It was discovered growing in an old fluorite mine. It grows as an inter-grown aggregate or as an isolated crystal in a compact quartzitic matrix. It appears as a platy disc-shaped emerald green transparent crystal. The mineral was named after Dr. Cesare Sabelli, researcher at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Sabelliite's ideal chemical formula is (Cu,Zn)2Zn[(As,Sb)O4](OH)3

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2021.43 . S2CID   235729616.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mindat https://www.mindat.org/min-46071.html
  3. 1 2 3 4 Belakovskiy, D.I., Uvarova, Y., and Gagne, O.C., 2016, New Mineral Names, American Mineralogist, v 101, pp 1012–1019.:http://www.minsocam.org/msa/AmMin/TOC/2016/Abstracts/AM101P1012.pdf
  4. 1 2 3 Mills, S. J.; Kampf, A. R.; Christy, A. G.; Housley, R. M.; Rossman, G. R.; Reynolds, R. E.; and Marty, J., 2014, Mineralogical Magazine, v 78, no 5, pp. 1325-1340.