Kleinite
Kleinite is a rare mineral that has only been found in the United States and Germany that occurs in hydrothermal mercury deposits.[2] It occurs associated with calcite, gypsum and (rarely) barite or calomel.[3] Its color can range from pale yellow/canary yellow to orange, and it is transparent to translucent.[2] As a photosensitive mineral, its coloration darkens when exposed to light.[4]
Kleinite | |
---|---|
Kleinite atop quartz from the McDermitt Mine | |
General | |
Category | Mineral |
Formula (repeating unit) | (Hg2N)(Cl,SO4) · nH2O |
Strunz classification | 3.DD.35 |
Crystal system | Hexagonal |
Crystal class | Dihexagonal dipyramidal 6/mmm (6/m 2/m 2/m) |
Unit cell | a = 6.762(2) Å, c = 11.068(3) Å, Z=4 |
Identification | |
Color | Light to canary-yellow, orange |
Crystal habit | Short prismatic to equant crystals exhibiting prominent {1010}, {2021}, and {0001} |
Cleavage | Uneven on {0001}, imperfect on {1010} |
Tenacity | Brittle |
Mohs scale hardness | 3.5 |
Luster | Adamantine to greasy |
Streak | Sulfur yellow |
Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent |
Specific gravity | 7.9-8.0 |
Optical properties | Uniaxial (+) (Biaxial below 130 °C (biaxial negative) and uniaxial above 130 °C (uniaxial positive). Isotropic above ~ 190 °C) |
Refractive index | nω = 2.190 nε = 2.210 |
Birefringence | δ = 0.020 |
Other characteristics | Color deepens on exposure to daylight, original color returns in darkness |
References | [1][2] |
It has been hypothesized that kleinite formed through a "reaction of cinnabar with oxidized meteoric water", with this reaction being the source of kleinite's nitrogen.[4]
Etymology
Kleinite is named after Carl Klein (1842–1907), who was a professor of mineralogy at the University of Berlin.[2]
- Kleinite on calcite, from McDermitt Mine (Cordero Mine; Old Cordero Mine), Opalite District, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States
gollark: Yeees, I tend to alternate between thinking that I'm doing generally fine and thinking that I am not doing enough of [VARIOUS THINGS] and will utterly fail in some way.
gollark: Oh, go consume bees.
gollark: Anyway, potatOS now includes a high-performance* factorization engine using the Pollard rho algorithm, [DATA EXPUNGED], and the Rabin-Miller primality test.
gollark: How do you know about PotatOS Lightcycle? It's classified.
gollark: potato operation system.
See also
- Halide minerals
- List of minerals
References
- Kleinite data on Mindat
- "Kleinite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. 2005. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- United States Geological Survey (1909). Bulletin. Bulletin. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 10. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- Castor, S.B.; Ferdock, G.C. (2004). Minerals of Nevada. Minerals of Nevada. University of Nevada Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-87417-540-0. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.