Chemistry:Cabalzarite

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Cabalzarite
Cabalzarite found in Switzerland
General
CategoryArsenate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
Ca(Mg,Al,Fe3+)2[AsO4]2•2(H2O,OH)
Strunz classification8.CG.15
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space groupC2/m
Unit cella = 8.925 Å,
b = 6.143 Å,
c = 7.352 Å,
β = 115.25°; Z = 2
Identification
ColorLight brown, brownish pink, orange brown
Crystal habitAggregates and clusters, granular
FractureIrregular
Mohs scale hardness5
|re|er}}Vitreous
StreakWhite
Diaphaneitytransparent
Specific gravity3.89
Optical propertiesBiaxial
Refractive indexnα = 1.700 nγ = 1.760
Birefringenceδ = 0.060
References[1][2][3]

Cabalzarite is a rare arsenate mineral with the chemical formula Ca(Mg,Al,Fe3+)2[AsO4]2•2(H2O,OH). It is a member of the tsumcorite group. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system and typically occurs as clusters of crystals or granular aggregates.[1][2]

It was first described for samples from an abandoned manganese mine in Falotta, Graubünden, Switzerland and named for Swiss amateur mineralogist Walter Cabalzar. It was approved as a new mineral by the IMA in 1997. It has also been reported from the Aghbar mine in Ouarzazate Province, Morocco.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cabalzarite mineral data from Webmineral
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cabalzarite mineral information on Mindat.org
  3. ↑ Brugger J., Meisser N., Schenk K., Berlepsch P., Bonin M., Armbruster T., Nyfeler D. and Schmidt S. 2000: Description and crystal structure of cabalzarite Ca(Mg,Fe,Al)2(AsO4)2(H2O,OH)2, a new mineral from the tsumcorite group. American Mineralogist, 85(9), 1307-1314; [1]
  4. ↑ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine 85 (3): 291–320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. Bibcode: 2021MinM...85..291W. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mineralogical-magazine/article/imacnmnc-approved-mineral-symbols/62311F45ED37831D78603C6E6B25EE0A.