Fettelite

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Fettelite
Fettelite-14124.jpg
Cluster of tiny fettelite crystals in a vug from Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile
General
Category Sulfosalt mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
Ag16HgAs4S15 (rruff) or
[Ag6As2S7]·[Ag10HgAs2S8] (mindat.org)
IMA symbol Ftt [1]
Strunz classification 2.LA.30
Crystal system Monoclinic
Crystal class Sphenoidal (2)
(same H-M symbol)
Space group C2
Unit cell a = 15.00, c = 15.46 [Å]
V = 3014 Å3; Z = 8
Identification
Colordark violet to red
Crystal habit flakes, hexagonal, micaceous
Twinning intimately twinned with six twin domains
Cleavage perfect
Fracture subconchoidal
Mohs scale hardness3.5
Luster metallic
Streak dark vermillion
Diaphaneity subopaque to opaque
Specific gravity 6.29
Optical propertiesBiaxial, anisotrophism weak with strong red internal reflections
Refractive index N(calc) = 1.74
Birefringence moderate white to brownish gray
References [2] [3] [4]

Fettelite, also known as sanguinite, is a mercury-sulfosalt mineral with the chemical formula Ag16HgAs4S15. The mineral was first described by Wang and Paniagua (1996) [5] who named it after M. Fettel, a German field geologist who collected the first samples from Odenwald. [6] It was first collected in the Nieder-Beerbach mine, 10 km south of Darmstadt, Odenwald, Germany. Its normal occurrence is in hydrothermal veins, which can cut gabbro-diorite intrusives. It is closely related to other rare minerals like dervillite, daomanite, vaughanite and criddleite which are also found in the same type locality as fettelite. [4]

Fettelite occurs as clusters of hexagonal flakes. These flakes can get up to 0.2 mm across and around 5-10 μm thick. In more complex hexagonal tablets, somewhat larger sub parallel aggregates can be measured. [7] The birefringence of Fettelite is moderate white to grayish brown. [6]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playfairite</span>

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14
HgS
8
. Danielsite is very fine grained and hard to observe in hand samples. It generally has a gray color with very brittle and soft physical characteristics.

Parascorodite is a rare, secondary iron-arsenate mineral. It has a chemical formula of (FeAsO4·2H2O) and was discovered in 1967 using X-ray powder diffraction methods, when an unknown substance was found along with scorodite on medieval ore dumps in the Czech Republic. The holotype of parascorodite can be found in the mineralogical collection of the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic under acquisition number P1p25/98.

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. Mineralienatlas
  3. Mindat.org Accessed 4 November 2010
  4. 1 2 Jambor, John L.; Puziewicz, Jacek; Roberts, Andrew C. (1997). "New mineral name" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 82: 620–624.
  5. Wang, N. and Paniagua, A. (1996) Fettelite, a new Hg-sulfosalt mineral from Odenwald. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie Monatshefte, 82, 313–320.
  6. 1 2 Bindi, Luca; Keutsch, Frank N.; Francis, Carl A.; Menchetti, Silvio (2009). "Fettelite, {Ag6As2S7}{Ag10HgAs2S8} from Chañarcillo, Chile: Crystal structure, pseudosymmetry, twinning, and revised chemical formula" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 94: 609–615. doi:10.2138/am.2009.3096. S2CID   53975716.
  7. Mandarino, J.A (1997) Abstracts of new mineral description The Mineralogical Record, 28, 141-143.