Flaggite, Pb₄Cu²⁺₄Te⁶⁺₂(SO₄)₂O₁₁(OH)₂(H₂O), a new mineral with stair-step-like HCP layers from Tombstone, Arizona, USA
Abstract
The new mineral flaggite (IMA2021-044), Pb4Cu2+4Te6+2(SO4)2O11(OH)2(H2O), occurs at the Grand Central mine in the Tombstone district, Cochise County, Arizona, USA, in cavities in quartz matrix in association with alunite, backite, cerussite, jarosite and rodalquilarite. Flaggite crystals are lime-green to yellow-green tablets, up to 0.5 mm across. The mineral has a very pale green streak and adamantine lustre. It is brittle with irregular fracture and a Mohs hardness of ~3. It has one excellent cleavage on {010}. The calculated density is 6.137 g cm–3. Optically, the mineral is biaxial (+) with α = 1.95(1), β = 1.96(1), γ = 2.00(1) (white light); 2V = 54(2)°; pleochroism: X green, Y light yellow green, Z nearly colourless; X > Y > Z. The Raman spectrum exhibits bands consistent with TeO6 and SO4. Electron microprobe analysis provided the empirical formula Pb3.88Cu2+3.89Te6+2.08(SO4)2O11(OH)2(H2O) (–0.03 H). Flaggite is triclinic, P1, a = 9.5610(2), b = 9.9755(2), c = 10.4449(3) Å, α = 74.884(1), β = 89.994(1), γ = 78.219(1)°, V = 939.97(4) Å3 and Z = 2. The structure of flaggite (R1 = 0.0342 for 5936 I > 2σI) contains hexagonal-close-packed, stair-step-like layers comprising TeO6 octahedra and Jahn-Teller distorted CuO6 octahedra. The layers in the structure of flaggite are very similar to those in bairdite, timroseite and paratimroseite.
Additional Information
Oleg Siidra, an anonymous reviewer and Structures Editor Peter Leverett are thanked for their constructive comments on the manuscript. A portion of this study was funded by the John Jago Trelawney Endowment to the Mineral Sciences Department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.Additional details
- Alternative title
- Flaggite, Pb4Cu2+4Te6+2(SO4)2O11(OH)2(H2O), a new mineral with stair-step-like HCP layers from Tombstone, Arizona, USA
- Eprint ID
- 116602
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20220829-544792300
- John Jago Trelawney Endowment
- Created
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2022-08-31Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2022-08-31Created from EPrint's last_modified field