Idrialite

Idrialite, or idrialine, is a soft, orthorhombic hydrocarbon mineral with chemical formula: C22H14.[1][2] It is usually greenish yellow to light brown in color with bluish fluorescence.

Idrialite
Idrialite, Skaggs Springs Mine, Sonoma County, California (size: 6.3 x 4.1 x 1.8 cm
General
CategoryOrganic mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)		C22H14
Strunz classification10.BA.20
Dana classification50.03.08.01
Crystal systemOrthorhombic
Unknown space group
Unit cella = 8.07, b = 6.42
c = 27.75 [Å]; Z = 4
Identification
ColorGreenish yellow, light brown, colorless
Cleavage{001}, perfect; {100}, poor
FractureConchoidal
Mohs scale hardness1.5
LusterVitreous to adamantine
Specific gravity1.236
Optical propertiesBiaxial (+)
Refractive indexnα= 1.557 nβ = 1.734 nγ = 2.07
PleochroismX = pale yellow; Y = Z = yellow
2V angle84°
Ultraviolet fluorescenceShort UV=blue, orange, yellow, green white
References[1][2]

Raman spectroscopy studies indicate that it may be a mixture of complex hydrocarbons including benzonaphthothiophenes (chemical formula: C16H10S) and dinaphthothiophenes (chemical formula: C20H12S).[3]

It has historically also been known as branderz, idrialine, and inflammable cinnabar due to its combustibility.[4] When distilled, it produces the mineral wax idrialin.[5][6]

Discovery and occurrence

It was first described in 1832 for an occurrence in the Idrija region west of Ljubljana, northwestern Slovenia.[2] It also occurs at Skaggs Springs, Sonoma County, western Lake County and the Knoxville Mine in Napa County, California.[1] It has also been reported from localities in France, Slovakia and Ukraine.[2]

It can be found mixed with clay, pyrite, quartz and gypsum associated with cinnabar in the Idrija occurrence and with metacinnabar, realgar and opal in the Skaggs Spring location.[1]

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References
  1. Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (eds.). "Idrialite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Chantilly, VA: Mineralogical Society of America. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  2. Barthelmy, Dave. "Idrialite Mineral Data". Mindat.org. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  3. Frank, Otakar; Jehlička, Jan; Edwards, Howell G.M. (December 2007). "Raman spectroscopy as tool for the characterization of thio-polyaromatic hydrocarbons in organic minerals". Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 68 (4): 1065–1069. doi:10.1016/j.saa.2006.12.033.
  4. Egleston, Thomas (1889). Catalogue of Minerals and Synonyms. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 83.
  5. Thomson, Thomas (1838). Chemistry of Organic Bodies: Vegetables. Maclachlan & Stewart. p. 748.
  6. Goldschmidt, G. (1879). Watts, Henry (ed.). Journal of the Chemical Society. The Chemical Society of Great Britain. p. 167.
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