Chemistry:Middlebackite

From HandWiki
Short description: Copper oxalate mineral
Middlebackite
General
CategoryOrganic mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
Cu2C2O4(OH)2
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal class2/m - Prismatic
Identification
ColorTurquoise

Middlebackite is an organic mineral with the formula Cu2C2O4(OH)2. It was first discovered within a boulder from the Iron Monarch quarry in South Australia in June 1990.[2] Peter Elliott from the University of Adelaide, Australia, identified the structure of the mineral 25 years later. He determined its crystal structure through single-crystal X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Elliot named the mineral for the Middleback Range where it originated.[3] In 2018 middlebackite was found in Val di Fiemme, Italy, during researches that brought to the discovery of a new mineral named fiemmeite.[4]

Localities

  • Australia: Iron Monarch open cut, Iron Knob, Middleback Range, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
  • Italy: Passo di san Lugano, near Carano

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine 85 (3): 291–320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. Bibcode2021MinM...85..291W. 
  2. "Middlebackite: Middlebackite mineral information and data.". https://www.mindat.org/min-47562.html. 
  3. "Carbon Mineral Challenge Update Spring 2016: Four New Minerals Found" (in en-US). http://mineralchallenge.net/carbon-mineral-challenge-update-spring-2016-four-new-minerals-found/. 
  4. Demartin, Francesco; Campostrini, Italo; Ferretti, Paolo; Rocchetti, Ivano (2018). "Fiemmeite Cu2(C2O4)(OH)2∙2H2O, a New Mineral from Val di Fiemme, Trentino, Italy" (in en). Minerals 8 (6): 248. doi:10.3390/min8060248.