Seamanite

Last updated
Seamanite
Seamanite-zr17a.jpg
Seamanite crystals on a rock sample
(5 x 4 x 3 cm)
General
Category Borate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
Mn3[B(OH)4](PO4)(OH)2 [1]
IMA symbol Sem [2]
Strunz classification 6.AC.65 [3]
Dana classification43.4.5.1 [1]
Crystal system Orthorhombic
Crystal class Dipyramidal (mmm)
H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) [4]
Space group Pbnm
Unit cell a = 7.811  Å, b = 15.114 Å
c = 6.691 Å, Z = 4
Identification
Formula mass 372.64 g/mol [3]
Coloryellow, yellow-brown, pink [1]
Crystal habit acicular [3]
Cleavage distinct on {001} [4]
Fracture brittle [3]
Tenacity brittle [4]
Mohs scale hardness4 [1]
Luster vitreous [3]
Streak white [3]
Diaphaneity transparent [4]
Specific gravity 3.08 [1]
Density 3.08–3.128 g/cm3 [4]
Refractive index nα = 1.640,
nβ = 1.663,
nγ = 1.665 [5]
Birefringence δ = 0.025 [1]
2V angle ≈40° [5]
Dispersion weak [1]
Ultraviolet fluorescence none [3]
Solubility in cold, dilute acids [1]
References [4]

Seamanite, named for discoverer Arthur E. Seaman, is a rare manganese boron phosphate mineral with formula Mn3[B(OH)4](PO4)(OH)2. The yellow to pink mineral occurs as small, needle-shaped crystals. It was first discovered in 1917 from a mine in Iron County, Michigan, United States and identified in 1930. As of 2012, seamanite is known from four sites in Michigan and South Australia.

Contents

History

In 1917, Arthur E. Seaman collected a mineral sample from the Chicagon Mine in Iron County, Michigan. [lower-alpha 1] He correctly believed it to be a new mineral species based on a qualitative analysis of its composition by F. B. Wilson. World War I delayed further study of the mineral until 1929. A study in 1930 proved it to be a new mineral and named it seamanite in honor of Seaman. They cited his career as a professor of geology and mineralogy and his contributions to the field as reasons for the naming. [6]

The original analysis of the mineral in 1930 suggested seamanite to be a hydrated salt. [7] However, in 1971, the mineral was determined to be the coordination compound Mn3[B(OH)4](PO4)(OH)2. [8]

Description

Seamanite is a transparent, yellow to pink mineral that occurs as needle-shaped crystals. [3] Seamanite is a brittle mineral with a mohs hardness of 4. [1] It is found in the crevices of fractured siliceous rock. [6] The type occurrence was found in association with small crystals of calcite, thin coatings of manganese oxide, [6] and fibrous sussexite. [9] Seamanite has also been found with shigaite. [10]

Distribution

As of 2012, seamanite is known from four locations: the Cambria-Jackson Mine in Marquette County, Michigan, the Chicagon Mine and the Bengal Mine in Iron County, Michigan, and the Iron Monarch open cut in the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. [1]

The type material is stored at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, and at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. as sample 96282. [4]

Crystallography

Crystal structure of seamanite:
gray:H red:O green:B violet:Mn center of yellow tetrahedrons:P Structure cristalline seamanite.png
Crystal structure of seamanite:
gray:H red:O green:B violet:Mn center of yellow tetrahedrons:P

Seamanite is formed of acicular crystals elongated along [001] and showing the faces {110} and {111} up to one centimeter. It has an orthorhombic crystal system and the Pbnm space group. The parameters of its unit cell are: a=7.811 Å, b=15.114 Å, c=6.691 Å, Z=4 units per unit cell. [4]

Notes

  1. Some sources list it as the Chicagoan Mine [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivianite</span> Phosphate mineral

Vivianite (Fe2+
3
(PO
4
)
2
·8H
2
O
) is a hydrated iron phosphate mineral found in a number of geological environments. Small amounts of manganese Mn2+, magnesium Mg2+, and calcium Ca2+ may substitute for iron Fe2+ in the structure. Pure vivianite is colorless, but the mineral oxidizes very easily, changing the color, and it is usually found as deep blue to deep bluish green prismatic to flattened crystals.
Vivianite crystals are often found inside fossil shells, such as those of bivalves and gastropods, or attached to fossil bone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braunite</span> Nesosilicate mineral of manganese

Braunite is a silicate mineral containing both di- and tri-valent manganese with the chemical formula: Mn2+Mn3+6[O8|SiO4]. Common impurities include iron, calcium, boron, barium, titanium, aluminium, and magnesium.

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

Lithiophilite is a mineral containing the element lithium. It is lithium manganese(II) phosphate with chemical formula LiMnPO4. It occurs in pegmatites often associated with triphylite, the iron end member in a solid solution series. The mineral with intermediate composition is known as sicklerite and has the chemical formula Li(Mn,Fe)PO4). The name lithiophilite is derived from the Greek philos (φιλός) "friend", as lithiophilite is usually found with lithium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todorokite</span> Hydrous manganese oxide mineral

Todorokite is a complex hydrous manganese oxide mineral with generic chemical formula (Na,Ca,K,Ba,Sr)
1-x
(Mn,Mg,Al)
6
O
12
·3-4H
2
O
. It was named in 1934 for the type locality, the Todoroki mine, Hokkaido, Japan. It belongs to the prismatic class 2/m of the monoclinic crystal system, but the angle β between the a and c axes is close to 90°, making it seem orthorhombic. It is a brown to black mineral which occurs in massive or tuberose forms. It is quite soft with a Mohs hardness of 1.5, and a specific gravity of 3.49 – 3.82. It is a component of deep ocean basin manganese nodules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robertsite</span> Phosphate mineral

Robertsite, Ca3(Mn3+)4[(OH)3| (PO4)2]2·3(H2O) (alternatively formulated Ca2(Mn3(PO4)3O2)(H2O)3), is a secondary phosphate mineral named for Willard Lincoln Roberts (1923–1987), mineralogist and professor at South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eosphorite</span> Phosphate mineral

Eosphorite is a brown (occasionally pink) manganese hydrous phosphate mineral with chemical formula: MnAl(PO4)(OH)2·H2O. It is used as a gemstone.

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

Woodhouseite belongs to the beudantite group AB3(XO4)(SO4)(OH)6 where A = Ba, Ca, Pb or Sr, B = Al or Fe and X = S, As or P. Minerals in this group are isostructural with each other and also with minerals in the crandallite and alunite groups. They crystallise in the rhombohedral system with space group R3m and crystals are usually either tabular {0001} or pseudo-cubic to pseudo-cuboctahedral. Woodhouseite was named after Professor Charles Douglas Woodhouse (1888–1975), an American mineralogist and mineral collector from the University of California, Santa Barbara, US, and one-time General Manager of Champion Sillimanite, Inc.

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

Hureaulite is a manganese phosphate with the formula Mn2+5(PO3OH)2(PO4)2·4H2O. It was discovered in 1825 and named in 1826 for the type locality, Les Hureaux, Saint-Sylvestre, Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France. It is sometimes written as huréaulite, but the IMA does not recommend this for English language text.

Arthur Edmund Seaman was a professor at the Michigan College of Mines and curator of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum which bears his name.

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

Groutite is a manganese oxide mineral with formula Mn3+O(OH). It is a member of the diaspore group and is trimorphous with manganite and feitknechtite. It forms lustrous black crystals in the orthorhombic system.

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

Shigaite is a mineral with formula NaAl3(Mn2+)6(SO4)2(OH)18·12H2O that typically occurs as small, hexagonal crystals or thin coatings. It is named for Shiga Prefecture, Japan, where it was discovered in 1985. The formula was significantly revised in 1996, identifying sodium as a previously unknown constituent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarbuttite</span> Phosphate mineral

Tarbuttite is a rare phosphate mineral with formula Zn2(PO4)(OH). It was discovered in 1907 in what is now Zambia and named for Percy Coventry Tarbutt.

Gatehouseite is a manganese hydroxy phosphate mineral with formula Mn5(PO4)2(OH)4. First discovered in 1987, it was identified as a new mineral species in 1992 and named for Bryan M. K. C. Gatehouse (born 1932). As of 2012, it is known from only one mine in South Australia.

Arsenoclasite (originally arsenoklasite) is a red or dark orange brown mineral with formula Mn5(AsO4)2(OH)4. The name comes from the Greek words αρσενικόν (for arsenic) and κλάσις (for cleavage), as arsenoclasite contains arsenic and has perfect cleavage. The mineral was discovered in 1931 in Långban, Sweden.

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

Leucophoenicite is a mineral with formula Mn7(SiO4)3(OH)2. Generally brown to red or pink in color, the mineral gets its name from the Greek words meaning "pale purple-red". Leucophoenicite was discovered in New Jersey, US and identified as a new mineral in 1899.

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

Manganvesuvianite is a rare mineral with formula Ca19Mn3+(Al,Mn3+,Fe3+)10(Mg,Mn2+)2(Si2O7)4(SiO4)10O(OH)9. The mineral is red to nearly black in color. Discovered in South Africa and described in 2002, it was so named for the prevalence of manganese in its composition and its relation to vesuvianite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterhouseite</span> Hydroxy manganese phosphate mineral

Waterhouseite, Mn7(PO4)2(OH)8, is a hydroxy manganese phosphate mineral. It is a medium-soft, brittle mineral occurring in pseudo-orthorhombic monoclinic bladed crystals and orange-brown to dark brown in color. Waterhouseite is on the softer side with a Mohs hardness of 4, has a specific gravity of 3.5 and a yellowish-brown streak. It is named after Frederick George Waterhouse, first director of the South Australian Museum, as well as recognizes the work Waterhouse Club has done in support of the South Australian Museum.

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

Sturmanite is a rare sulfate mineral with the chemical formula Ca6Fe3+2(SO4)2.5(B(OH)4)(OH)12 · 25 H2O. It crystallises in the tetragonal system and it has a Moh's hardness of 2.5. Sturmanite has a bright yellow to amber colour and falls in the ettringite group. It was named after Bozidar Darko Sturman (born 1937), Croatian-Canadian mineralogist and Curator Emeritus of Mineralogy, Royal Ontario Museum.

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

Ramsdellite (Mn4+O2) is an orthorhombic manganese dioxide mineral. It is relatively uncommon, and is usually found in deposits containing other manganese oxide crystals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Seamanite". Mindat. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Seamanite Mineral Data". Webmineral. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Seamanite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Kraus, p. 222
  6. 1 2 3 Kraus, p. 220.
  7. Kraus, p. 223–5
  8. Moore, p. 1527.
  9. Slawson, p. 575
  10. "Seamanite – Photo Gallery". Mindat. Retrieved April 13, 2012.

Bibliography

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Seamanite at Wikimedia Commons