Paralaurionite

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Paralaurionite
Paralaurionite.jpg
Platey clear paralaurionite crystals from slag in the Thorikos area, Lavrion, Attica, Greece
General
Category Halide mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
PbCl(OH)
IMA symbol Plri [1]
Strunz classification 3.DC.05
Crystal system Monoclinic
Crystal class Prismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space group C2/m
Unit cell a = 10.865(4) Å,
b = 4.006(2) Å,
c = 7.233(3) Å;
β = 117.24(4)°; Z = 4
Identification
ColorColorless, white, pale greenish, yellowish, yellow-orange, rarely violet
Crystal habit Elongated tabular crystals
Twinning Contact twinning on {100}
Cleavage Perfect on {001}
Tenacity Flexible, non-elastic
Mohs scale hardness3
Luster Subadamantine
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent
Specific gravity 6.05–6.15
Optical propertiesBiaxial (−)
Refractive index nα = 2.050 nβ = 2.150 nγ = 2.200
Birefringence δ = 0.150
Pleochroism Visible
References [2] [3] [4] [5]

Paralaurionite is a colorless mineral consisting of a basic lead chloride PbCl(OH) that is dimorphous with laurionite. It is a member of the matlockite group. [6] The name is derived from para-, the Greek for "near", and laurionite, because of its polymorphic relationship to it. [4] Bright, yellow tips of thorikosite can form on paralaurionite crystals and paralaurionite may also be intergrown with mendipite. [7] [8]

Occurrence

It was first described in 1899 for an occurrence in slag in Laurium, Attica, Greece. [3] In 1952 an occurrences of it was reported from the Mammoth Mine, Arizona. [9]

It occurs in lead bearing slag which has been exposed to seawater. It also occurs in polymetallic ore deposits. It occurs associated with laurionite, penfieldite, fiedlerite, phosgenite in slag deposits; and with leadhillite, matlockite, cerussite, hydrocerussite, diaboleite and wherryite in the Mammoth mine location. [3]

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6
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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotunnite</span>

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

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Laurionite is a lead halide mineral. It forms colorless to white crystals in the orthorhombic crystal system and is dimorphous with paralaurionite, both members of the matlockite group.

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Diaboleite is a blue-colored mineral with formula Pb2CuCl2(OH)4. It was discovered in England in 1923 and named diaboleite, from the Greek word διά and boleite, meaning "distinct from boleite". The mineral has since been found in a number of countries.

Daubréeite is a rare bismuth oxohalide mineral with formula BiO(OH,Cl). It is a creamy-white to yellow-brown, soft, earthy clay–like mineral which crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system. It is a member of the matlockite group.

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

Mammothite is a mineral found in the Mammoth mine in Tiger, Arizona and also in Laurium, Attika, Greece. This mineral was named in 1985 by Donald R. Peacor, Pete J. Dunn, G. Schnorrer-Köhler, and Richard A. Bideaux, for the Mammoth vein (one of the two main veins in the mine) and the town of Mammoth, Arizona, which was named for the mine. The mammothite that is found in Arizona exist as euhedral crystals imbedded in micro granular, white colored anglesite with a saccharoidal texture. The associated minerals include phosgenite, wulfenite, leadhillite and caledonite. In Greece, the mammothite exists as small euhedral crystals and also as microscopic rock cavities lined with projecting crystals within the slags. The associated minerals here are cerussite, phosgenite and matlockite. The ideal chemical formula for mammothite is Pb6Cu4AlSb5+O2(OH)16Cl4(SO4)2.

Zhangpeishanite is a mineral named after Zhang Peishan, a Chinese mineralogist at the Institute of Geology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in recognition of his contributions to studying the mineralogy Bayan Obo deposit, where the mineral is mined. The Bayan Obo deposit is also known for being a world class deposit. The mineral got approved by the IMA in 2006 but was published two years after its approval. The mineral consists of barium chloride fluoride.

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

Penfieldite is a rare lead hydroxychloride mineral from the class of halides. It was named after Samuel Lewis Penfield. It has been a valid species before the founding of IMA, and was first published in 1892. It had been grandfathered, meaning the name penfieldite is still believed to refer to a valid species. When it was first described by Genth in 1892 from Laurion, Greece, the mineral had the formula of Pb3Cl4O.

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. 1 2 3 Handbook of Mineralogy
  4. 1 2 Paralaurionite on Mindat.org
  5. Paralaurionite on Webmineral
  6. Mineralogical magazine. Mineralogical Society, HighWire Press. 1 January 2006. pp. 643–8. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  7. The Mineralogical record. 1986. pp. 185–88. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  8. Williams, Peter A. (August 1990). Oxide zone geochemistry. E. Horwood. pp. 262–4. ISBN   978-0-13-647553-8 . Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  9. Mineralogical Society (Great Britain) (1952). The Mineralogical magazine and journal of the Mineralogical Society. Mineralogical Society. pp. 341–2. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
Unusually large crystals of Paralaurionite, Touissit, Oujda-Angad Province, Morocco. Size: 6 x 5.5 x 5 cm. Paralaurionite-177497.jpg
Unusually large crystals of Paralaurionite, Touissit, Oujda-Angad Province, Morocco. Size: 6 x 5.5 x 5 cm.