Chlorocalcite
Chlorocalcite is a rare potassium calcium chloride evaporite mineral with formula: KCaCl3. It is found in active volcanic fumaroles.
| Chlorocalcite | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Category | Halide mineral |
| Formula (repeating unit) | KCaCl3 |
| Strunz classification | 3.AA.40 |
| Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
| Crystal class | Dipyramidal (mmm) H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) |
| Space group | Pnma (from synthetic crystals) |
| Unit cell | a = 7.35 Å, b = 10.44 Å, c = 7.25 Å; Z = 4 |
| Identification | |
| Formula mass | 185.54 g/mol |
| Color | White, tinged violet |
| Crystal habit | Prismatic or tabular cube-like crystals, pseudo cubic |
| Cleavage | Perfect on {001}, good on {010} and {100} |
| Mohs scale hardness | 2.5-3 |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent to semi-transparent |
| Density | 2.16 calculated |
| Optical properties | Biaxial (–) |
| Refractive index | ~1.52 |
| Birefringence | weak |
| Solubility | In water |
| Other characteristics | Deliquescent |
| References | [1][2][3][4] |
It was first described in 1872 for an occurrence on Mount Vesuvius and given the name for its calcium content previous to discovering that it also contained potassium.[2][3] It has also been reported from the Desdemona Mine, Peine, Lower Saxony, Germany.[2]
References
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