ALBERT

Description: Carlgieseckeite-(Nd), ideally NaNdCa3(PO4)3F, a new mineral species of the belovite group of the apatite supergroup, was found at the Kuannersuit Plateau, Ilímaussaq alkaline complex, South Greenland. It is associated with albite, analcime and fluorapatite in cavities of an albite vein cross-cutting augite syenite. Carlgieseckeite-(Nd) forms hexagonal tabular crystals up to 0.25 × 1 × 1.3 mm, and their parallel intergrowth up to 0.7 × 1.3 mm is found epitactically overgrown on prismatic crystals of fluorapatite. A phase with the idealized formula Na1.5Nd1.5Ca2(PO4)3F epitactically overgrows some crystals of carlgieseckeite-(Nd). Carlgieseckeite-(Nd) is transparent and shows a distinct color-change effect, from almost colorless with a greenish hue in daylight to pink in yellow electric light. The luster is vitreous. The Mohs hardness is ca. 5. The mineral is brittle with no observed cleavage and an uneven fracture. The calculated density is 3.91 g/cm3. Carlgieseckeite-(Nd) is optically negative, uniaxial [ω = 1.655(3), ɛ = 1.632(2)] or shows anomalous biaxiality [α 1.632(2), β 1.654(3), γ 1.656(3), 2V(meas.) 15(5)°]. The average chemical composition (electron-microprobe data) is: Na2O 5.68, CaO 18.53, SrO 7.55, BaO 0.14, La2O3 1.32, Ce2O3 10.60, Pr2O3 2.62, Nd2O3 15.08, Sm2O3 2.89, Gd2O3 0.52, SiO2 0.56, P2O5 32.72, F 2.80, Cl 0.06, −O=(F,Cl)2 −1.19, total 99.88 wt.%. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 13 O + F + Cl apfu is: Na1.17Ca2.11Sr0.46Ba0.01La0.05 Ce0.41Pr0.10Nd0.57Sm0.11Gd0.02Si0.06P2.94O12.05F0.94Cl0.01. Carlgieseckeite-(Nd) is trigonal, space group P3̄, a 9.4553(1), c 6.9825(1) Å, V 540.62(1) Å3, Z = 2. The crystal structure was refined from X-ray-diffraction data (single crystal, R = 0.0218). Carlgieseckeite-(Nd) is the isostructural Ca- and Nd-dominant analogue of belovite-(Ce) and belovite-(La). The strongest lines of the powder X-ray pattern [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are: 7.02(22)(001), 5.33(18)(101), 3.923(27)(111), 3.463(23)(002), 3.095(19)(210), 2.815(100)(211,112), 2.727(42)(300). The mineral is named in honor of Carl Ludwig Giesecke (1761–1833), a mineralogist and polar explorer, the pioneer researcher of the mineralogy of Greenland. The Levinson suffix modifier -(Nd) is appropriate to express the dominance of Nd over other REE in the mineral. The holotype material is deposited in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

Description: The new Mg- and F-dominant lamprophyllite-group mineral lileyite (IMA 2011-021) was found at the Löhley quarry, Üdersdorf, near Daun, Eifel Mountains, Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany, and named for the old name of the type locality, Liley. Associated minerals are nepheline, leucite, augite, magnetite, fluorapatite, perovskite, götzenite. Lileyite is brown, translucent; streak is white. It forms platy crystals up to 0.1 × 0.3 × 0.5 mm in size and their clusters up to 1 mm across on the walls of cavities in an alkaline basalt. Lileyite is brittle, with Mohs hardness of 3–4 and perfect cleavage on (001). Dcalc is 3.776 g/cm3. The new mineral is biaxial (+), a = 1.718(5), ß = 1.735(5), ? = 1.755(5), 2V (meas.) = 75(15)°, 2V (calc.) = 86°. The IR spectrum is given. The chemical composition is (EDS-mode electron microprobe, mean of 5 analyses, wt%): SiO2 28.05, BaO 26.39, TiO2 18.53, Na2O 6.75, MgO 4.58, FeO 4.48, CaO 2.30, SrO 2.23, MnO 1.44, K2O 1.41, Nb2O5 0.95, F 3.88, –O=F2 -1.63; total 99.36. The empirical formula based on 18 anions is: Ba1.50Sr0.19K0.26Na1.89Ca0.36Mn0.18Mg0.99Fe0.54Ti2.01Nb0.06Si4.06O16.23F1.77. The simplified formula is: Ba2(Na,Fe,Ca)3MgTi2(Si2O7)2O2F2. The crystal structure was solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data (R = 0.024). Lileyite is monoclinic, space group C2/m, a = 19.905(1), b = 7.098(1), c = 5.405(1) Å, ß = 96.349(5)°, V = 758.93(6) Å3, Z = 2. The strongest lines of the powder diffraction pattern [d, Å (I, %) (hkl)] are: 3.749 (45) (31–1), 3.464 (76) (510, 311, 401), 3.045 (37) (51–1), 2.792 (100) (221, 511), 2.672 (54) (002, 601, 20-2), 2.624 (43) (710, 42–1). Type material is deposited in the collections of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, registration number 4106/1.

Description: The new mineral langbanshyttanite was discovered in a specimen from the Langban mine (59.86{degrees}N, 14.27{degrees}E), Filipstad district, Varmland County, Bergslagen ore province, Sweden. Associated minerals are calcite, Mn-bearing phlogopite, spinels of the jacobsite-magnetite series, antigorite and trigonite. The mineral is named after the old name of the mine, smelter and mining village: Langbanshyttan. Langbanshyttanite is transparent, colourless. It occurs in late-stage fractures or corroded pockets, forming soft, radial and random aggregates (up to 1 mm) of acicular crystals up to 5 x 20 x 400 {micro}m. Dcalc is 3.951 g/cm3. The new mineral is biaxial (+), {alpha} = 1.700(5), {beta} = 1.741(5), {gamma} = 1.792(5), 2V (meas.) {approx} 90{degrees}, 2V (calc.) = 86{degrees}. Dispersion is strong, r 〈 v. The IR spectrum is given. The chemical composition is (electron microprobe, mean of five analyses, wt%): PbO 44.71, MgO 3.79, MnO 13.34, FeO 1.89, P2O5 0.65, As2O5 22.90, H2O (determined by gas chromatographic analysis of the products of ignition at 1200 {degrees}C) 14.4; total 101.68. The empirical formula based on 18 O atoms is: Pb1.97Mn1.85Mg0.93Fe0.26(AsO4)1.96(PO4)0.09(OH)3.87{middle dot}5.93H2O. The simplified formula is: Pb2Mn2Mg(AsO4)2(OH)4{middle dot}6H2O. Single-crystal diffraction data obtained using synchrotron radiation indicate that langbanshyttanite is triclinic, P[IMG]f1.gif" ALT="Formula" BORDER="0"〉, a = 5.0528(10), b = 5.7671(6), c = 14.617(3) A, {alpha} = 85.656(14), {beta} = 82.029(17), {gamma} = 88.728(13){degrees}, V = 420.6(2) A3, Z = 1, and is a representative of a new structure type. In the structure, edge-sharing MnO2(OH)4 octahedra form zig-zag columns that are linked by isolated AsO4 tetrahedra. Pb cations having six-fold coordination are located between the AsO4 tetrahedra. Isolated Mg(H2O)6 octahedra are located in the inter-block space. The strongest lines of the powder diffraction pattern [d, A (I, %) (hkl)] are: 14.48 (100) (001), 7.21 (43) (002), 4.969 (34) (100, 101), 4.798 (28) (003), 3.571 (54) (112, 1-1-1, 01-3, 11-1), 2.857 (45) (020, 021, 114), 2.800 (34) (11-3). Parts of the holotype specimen are deposited in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, with the registration number 4032/1 and in the collections of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden, under catalogue number NRM 20100076.

Description: Pseudolyonsite, ideally Cu3(VO4)2, is a new mineral from the medium-temperature fumaroles of the New Tolbachik scoria cones, Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. It occurs as needles that are 5-20 {micro}m across and up to 0.5 mm in the length, which sometimes produce parallel intergrowths, sprays or openwork clusters up to 2 mm. Associated minerals are: piypite, hematite, magnetite, lyonsite, aphthitalite, palmierite, langbeinite, filatovite, lammerite, vergasovaite, rutile and native gold. Pseudolyonsite is dark red with a brownish tint to black, translucent to opaque, with a reddish-brown streak and adamantine to semi-metallic lustre. The mineral is brittle, but thin long needles are flexible. The fracture is conchoidal, and no cleavage was observed. The calculated density is 4.749 g/cm3. In reflected light in air the mineral is grey with a weak bluish tint, non-pleochroic, has distinct anisotropy and ubiquitous red to orange internal reflections. The reflectance values (R1 and R2, %) in air for the four COM wavelengths are, respectively, 17.05, 19.6 (470 nm); 16.1, 18.15 (546 nm); 15.85, 17.7 (589 nm); and 15.55, 17.4 (650 nm). Four electron probe (EDS) analyses produced the following mean values: V2O5 40.37, CuO 48.83, ZnO 7.60, MoO3 1.89, and SiO2 0.14, total 98.83 wt%, which corresponds, on the basis of 8 O atoms, to (Cu2.58Zn0.44){sum}3.02(V1.88Mo0.06Si0.02){sum}1.96O8. The idealised formula is Cu3(VO4)2. Pseudolyonsite is monoclinic: P21/c, a = 6.2695(4), b = 8.0195(3), c = 6.3620(3) A, {beta} = 111.96(1){degrees}, V = 296.66(3) A3, Z = 2. The strongest powder X-ray diffraction lines [d in A (I) (hkl)] are: 4.70 (60) (110); 3.30 (79) (021, 120); 3.22 (87) (111); 3.18 (34) (-121, -102); 2.894 (74) (200, -211); 2.761 (100) (012); 2.479 (59) (-212, -122); 2.419 (67) (031, 130). The crystal structure was solved from single-crystal data and refined to R = 0.0444. Pseudolyonsite is isostructural with synthetic monoclinic Cu3(VO4)2. The crystal structure of pseudolyonsite contains corrugated octahedral layers formed by the chains of edge-shared, distorted Cu(2)-octahedra running along the c axis and connected to each other by distorted Cu(1)-octahedra. The octahedra of both types contain Cu and subordinate Zn, and they are typically Jahn-Teller-distorted. Adjacent octahedral layers are connected to each other by VO4 tetrahedra. Pseudolyonsite is dimorphous with triclinic mcbirneyite. The name pseudolyonsite comes from its close visual similarity to another vanadate mineral, lyonsite, Cu3Fe3+4(VO4)6. Both the mineral and its name have been approved by the IMA CNMNC (IMA No. 2009-062).

Description: Chemical and structural variations of 11 minerals of the cancrinite group having an Al,Si,O framework of the AB type are summarized and discussed. The total number of chemically studied samples is 360 (our data and literature data): cancrinite 192 and 35, vishnevite 21 and 13, cancrisilite 19 and 10, kyanoxalite and oxalate-rich intermediate members of the cancrinite– kyanoxalite series 12 and 0, davyne 10 and 23, depmeierite 2 and 0, balliranoite 1 and 0, hydroxycancrinite 0 and 1, quadridavyne 0 and 10, microsommite 0 and 8, and pitiglianoite 0 and 3. We provide original structural data for nine samples of distinct varieties of cancrinite and one sample of cancrisilite, as well as published structural data on the above-listed minerals. The major topics are the distribution and ratios of extra-framework components, cations (Na+, Ca2+, K+), anions (CO32-, SO42-, Cl-, C2O42-, PO43-) and H2O, with special emphasis on oxalate and phosphate anions. The idealized formula of cancrinite has been refined: Na7Ca[Al6Si6O24](CO3)1.5•2H2O. The solid-solution series with coupled substitutions in the framework and extra-framework portions are discussed, as is the genetic aspect of crystal chemistry of cancrinite-group minerals with a AB-type framework.

Description: We present a comparative analysis of powder infrared spectra of cancrinite-group minerals with the simplest framework, of AB type, from the viewpoint of crystal-chemical characteristics of extra-framework components. We provide IR spectra for typical samples of cancrinite, cancrisilite, kyanoxalite, hydroxycancrinite, depmeierite, vishnevite, pitiglianoite, balliranoite, davyne and quadridavyne, as well as the most unusual varieties of cancrinite-subgroup minerals (Ca-deficient cancrinite, H2O-free cancrinite, intermediate members of the series cancrinite – hydroxycancrinite, cancrinite–cancrisilite, cancrinite– kyanoxalite, K-rich vishnevite, S2-bearing balliranoite). Samples with solved crystal structures are used as reference patterns. Empirical trends and relationships between some parameters of IR spectra, compositional characteristics and unit-cell dimensions are obtained. The effect of Ca content on stretching vibrations of CO32- is explained in the context of the cluster approach. The existence of a hydrous variety of quadridavyne is demonstrated.

Description: Sulfates and phosphates consisting of mixed anionic radicals (or heteropolyhedral units) constitute a large group of mineral species. In this contribution, we will summarize our recent results on some novel or poorly studied minerals, whose structures are based upon octahedral-tetrahedral structural units. During investigations of secondary pegmatite phosphates from Hagendorf (Germany), we have located a new whiteite-jahnsite-group mineral that was named whiteite-(CaMnMn) Its structure is formed by alternating anionic layers composed from MO6octahedra and PO4tetrahedra, and linked together thorugh M(2) cations and water molecules. The crystal structure of bonshtedtite, Na3Fe(PO4)(CO3), is similar to that of the other minerals of the bradleyite group. It is based upon the [Fe(PO4)(CO3)]3-layers oriented parallel to (001). Refinement of the crystal structure of girvasite at 110 K allowed to determine positions of H atoms and to reveal the hydrogen bonding scheme. The refinement confirmed that the proper chemical formula of the mineral should be written as NaCa2Mg3(PO4)4(CO3)(H2O)6, in contrast to the formula NaCa2Mg3(PO4)2[PO2(OH)2](CO3)(OH)2(H2O)4proposed in the original works. The crystal structure of cattiite, Mg3(PO4)2(H2O)22contains two symmetrically independent Mg sites, tetrahedrally coordinated by water molecules to form octahedral complexes [Mg(H2O)6]. The crystal structure of vendidaite, Al2(SO4)(OH)3Cl(H2O)6, contains one symmetrically independent Al site coordinated by three OH groups and three H2O molecules. Together with the [Al2(OH)3(H2O)6]3+chains, Cl- anions and (SO4)2-groups form pseudo-layers parallel to (010).Steklite, KAl(SO4)2, was first described as a technogenic phase in products of burning coal dumps (Chelyabinsk region, Russia). Steklite of natural origin was found in sublimates of the Yadovitaya (Poisonous) fumarole of the Second scoria cone of the Northern Breakthrough of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption, Kamchatka, Russia.