Zinclipscombite, ZnFe23+(PO4)2(OH)2, a new mineral species

Zinclipscombite, a new mineral species, has been found together with apophyllite, quartz, barite, jarosite, plumbojarosite, turquoise, and calcite at the Silver Coin mine, Edna Mountains, Valmy, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. The new mineral forms spheroidal, fibrous segregations; the thickness of the fibers, which extend along the c axis, reaches 20 mu m, and the diameter of spherulites is up to 2.5 mm. The color is dark green to brown with a light green to beige streak and a vitreous luster. The mineral is translucent. The Mohs hardness is 5. Zinclipscombite is brittle; cleavage is not observed; fracture is uneven. The density is 3.65(4) g/cm(3) measured by hydrostatic weighing and 3.727 g/cm(3) calculated from X-ray powder data. The frequencies of absorption bands in the infrared spectrum of zinclipscombite are (cm(-1); the frequencies of the strongest bands are underlined; sh, shoulder; w, weak band) 3535, 3330sh, 3260, 1625w, 1530w, (1068) under bar, (1047) under bar, (1022) under bar, 970sh, 768w, 684w, (609) under bar, 502, and 460. The Mossbauer spectrum of zinclipscombite contains only a doublet corresponding to Fe3+ with sixfold coordination and a quadrupole splitting of 0.562 mm/s; Fe2+ is absent. The mineral is optically uniaxial and positive, omega = 1.755(5), epsilon = 1.795(5). Zinclipscombite is pleochroic, from bright green to blue-green on X and light greenish brown on Z (X > Z). Chemical composition (electron microprobe, average of five point analyses, wt %): CaO 0.30, ZnO 15.90, Al2O3 4.77, Fe2O3 35.14, P2O5 33.86, As2O5 4.05, H2O (determined by the Penfield method) 4.94, total 98.96. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of (PO4,AsO4)(2) is (Zn0.76Ca0.02)(Sigma 0.78)(Fe-1.72 Al-3+(0.36))(Sigma 2.08)[(PO4)(1.86)(AsO4)(0.14)](Sigma 2.00)(OH)(1. 80) center dot 0.17H(2)O. The simplified formula is ZnFe23+(PO4)(2)(OH)(2). Zinclipscombite is tetragonal, space group P4(3)2(1)2 or P4(1)2(1)2; a = 7.242(2) angstrom, c = 13.125(5) angstrom, V = 688.4(5) angstrom(3), Z = 4. The strongest reflections in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern (d, (I, %) ((hkl)) are 4.79(80)(111), 3.32(100)(113), 3.21(60)(210), 2.602(45)(213), 2.299(40)(214), 2.049(40)(106), 1.663(45)(226), 1.605(50)(421, 108). Zinclipscombite is an analogue of lipscombite, Fe2+Fe23+(PO4)(2)(OH)(2) (tetragonal), with Zn instead of Fe2+. The mineral is named for its chemical composition, the Zn-dominant analogue of lipscombite. The type material of zinclipscombite is deposited in the Mineralogical Collection of the Technische Universitat Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany.