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Paratacamite-(Mg), Cu3(Mg,Cu)Cl2(OH)6; a new substituted basic copper chloride mineral from Camerones, Chile

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

A. R. Kampf ,
M. J. Sciberras ,
P. Leverett ,
P. A. Williams ,
T. Malcherek ,
J. Schlüter ,
M. D. Welch ,
M. Dini  and
A. A. Molina Donoso
A. R. Kampf*
Affiliation:
Mineral Sciences Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
M. J. Sciberras
Affiliation:
School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia
P. Leverett
Affiliation:
School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia
P. A. Williams
Affiliation:
School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia
T. Malcherek
Affiliation:
Mineralogisch-Petrographisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Grindelallee 48, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
J. Schlüter
Affiliation:
Mineralogisch-Petrographisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Grindelallee 48, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
M. D. Welch
Affiliation:
Mineral and Planetary Sciences Division, Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
M. Dini
Affiliation:
Pasaje San Agustin 4045, La Serena, Chile
A. A. Molina Donoso
Affiliation:
Los Algarrobos 2986, Iquique, Chile
*
* E-mail:akampf@nhm.org
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Abstract

Paratacamite-(Mg) (IMA 2013-014), Cu3(Mg, Cu)Cl2(OH)6, is the new Mg-analogue of paratacamite. It was found near the village of Cuya in the Camarones Valley, Arica Province, Chile. The mineral is a supergene secondary phase occurring in association withanhydrite, atacamite, chalcopyrite, copiapite, dolomite, epsomite, haydeeite, hematite, magnesite and quartz. Paratacamite-(Mg) crystals are rhombs and thick to thin prisms up to 0.3 mm in size exhibiting the forms {201} and {001}. Twinning by reflection on {10} is common. The mineral istransparent with a vitreous lustre, with medium to deep-green colour and light-green streak. Mohs hardness is 3–3½, the tenacity is brittle and the fracture is conchoidal. Paratacamite-(Mg) has one perfect cleavage on {201}. The measured and calculated densities are 3.50(2) and3.551 g cm–3, respectively. The mineral is optically uniaxial (–) with ε = 1.785(5) and ω > 1.8 and slight pleochroism: O (bluish green) > E (green). Electron-microprobe analyses provided the empirical formula Cu3(Mg0.60Cu0.38Ni0.01Mn0.01)Cl2(OH)6.The mineral is easily soluble in dilute HCl. Paratacamite-(Mg) is trigonal, R , with cell parameters a = 13.689(1), c = 14.025(1) Å, V = 2275.8(3) Å3 and Z = 12. There is a pronounced sub-cell corresponding to a' ≈ ½a,c' ≈ c in space group R m. The eight strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [d obs Å(I)(hkl)]: 5.469(87)(021), 4.686(26)(003), 2.904(34)(401), 2.762(100)(22,042), 2.265(81)(404), 1.819(26)(603), 1.710(34)(440) and 1.380(19)(446). The structure was refined to R 1 = 0.039 for 480 F o > 4σF reflections. Refinement using interlayer Mg-Cu site scattering factors indicated that Mg is distributed statistically between both interlayer octahedraM1O6 and M2O6. A comparison of the distortions associated with M1O6 and M2O6 octahedra suggest that the sample is near the upper compositional limit for stability of the R phase.

Keywords

paratacamitenew mineralbasic copper chlorideChile

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 77 , Issue 8 , December 2013 , pp. 3113 - 3124
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2013

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