Atacamite
Atacamite
Halide evaporite mineral
Atacamite is a copper halide mineral: a copper(II) chloride hydroxide with formula Cu2Cl(OH)3. It was first described for deposits in the Atacama Desert of Chile in 1802 by Dmitri de Gallitzin.[2] The Atacama Desert is also the namesake of the mineral.
| Atacamite | |
|---|---|
Atacamite from Mt. Gunson mines, South Australia | |
| General | |
| Category | Halide mineral |
| Formula (repeating unit) | Cu2Cl(OH)3 |
| IMA symbol | Ata[1] |
| Strunz classification | 3.DA.10a |
| Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
| Crystal class | Dipyramidal (mmm) H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) |
| Space group | Pnma |
| Unit cell | a = 6.03, b = 9.12 c = 6.865 [Å]; Z = 4 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Bright green, dark emerald-green to blackish green |
| Crystal habit | Slender prismatic crystals, fibrous, granular to compact, massive |
| Twinning | Contact and penetration with complex twinned groupings |
| Cleavage | Perfect on {010}, fair on {101} |
| Fracture | Conchoidal |
| Tenacity | Brittle |
| Mohs scale hardness | 3–3.5 |
| Luster | Adamantine to vitreous |
| Streak | Apple green |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent |
| Specific gravity | 3.745–3.776 |
| Optical properties | Biaxial (−) |
| Refractive index | nα = 1.831 nβ = 1.861 nγ = 1.880 |
| Birefringence | δ = 0.049 |
| Pleochroism | X = pale green; Y = yellow-green; Z = grass-green |
| 2V angle | Calculated: 74° |
| Dispersion | r < v, strong |
| References | [2][3][4][5] |
Atacamite is polymorphous with botallackite, clinoatacamite, and paratacamite.[2] Atacamite is a comparatively rare mineral, formed from primary copper minerals in the oxidation or weathering zone of arid climates. It has also been reported as a volcanic sublimate from fumarole deposits, as sulfide alteration products in black smokers.[3] The mineral has also been found naturally on oxidized copper deposits in Chile, China, Russia, Czech Republic, Arizona, and Australia.[6] It occurs in association with cuprite, brochantite, linarite, caledonite, malachite, chrysocolla and its polymorphs.[3]
Synthetic Occurrence
Atacamite has been discovered in the patina of the Statue of Liberty, and as alteration of ancient bronze and copper artifacts. The mineral has been found as a pigment in sculpture, manuscripts, maps, and frescoes discovered in Eurasia, Russia, and Persia.[6]
Biomineral
Atacamite occurs as a biomineral in the jaws of bloodworms.[7][8]
- Atacamite prisms from Chile
- Atacamite from Chile displayed in the Harvard Museum of Natural History
- Atacamite from Mt. Gunson, South Australia
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- Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
- "Atacamite – CAMEO". cameo.mfa.org. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
- Lichtenegger HC, Schöberl T, Bartl MH, Waite H, Stucky GD (October 2002). "High abrasion resistance with sparse mineralization: copper biomineral in worm jaws". Science. 298 (5592): 389–92. Bibcode:2002Sci...298..389L. doi:10.1126/science.1075433. PMID 12376695. S2CID 14001250.
- Lichtenegger HC, Schöberl T, Ruokolainen JT, et al. (August 2003). "Zinc and mechanical prowess in the jaws of Nereis, a marine worm". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100 (16): 9144–9. Bibcode:2003PNAS..100.9144L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1632658100. PMC 170886. PMID 12886017.
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