Szklaryite

Szklaryite is an extremely rare mineral with the formula []Al6BAs33+O15.[1] It is essentially vacant ("[]"), arsenic-dominant member of dumortierite supergroup, giving a name of szklaryite group. It is one of three quite recently found minerals of this group, the other two being nioboholtite and titanoholtite, all coming from the Szklary village near Ząbkowice Śląskie in Poland.[2] They occur in a unique pegmatite of probable anatectic origin.[3]

Szklaryite
General
CategoryArsenate
Formula
(repeating unit)		[]Al6BAs33+O15
Crystal systemOrthorhombic
Crystal classDipyramidal (mmm)
H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m)
Space groupPbcm
Unit cella = 47.00 Å, b = 11.83 Å
c = 20.24 Å (approximated)
Identification
Crystal habittiny patch
References[1][2]

Occurrence and association

Szklaryite was detected as a tiny patch ca. 2 μm in size, in arsenic- and antimony-bearing dumortierite. Such a small size precluded determination of many of its properties. Szklaryite is associated with a wide variety of minerals including: nioboholtite, titanoholtite, fersmite, holtite, alluaudite, native antimony, manganese-bearing minerals of the apatite group (F-, OH- and Cl-rich apatite), native arsenic, beusite, native bismuth, cheralite, chrysoberyl, columbite-(Fe), columbite-(Mn), ernienickelite, native gold, gorceixite, hollandite, microcline, mitridatite, monazite-(Ce), muscovite, natrophilite, nontronite, various representatives of the betafite, microlite and pyrochlore groups; paradocrasite, phosphohedyphane, plumbogummite, pollucite, purpurite, quartz, ranciéite, romanèchite, saponite, spessartine, stibarsen, stibiocolumbite, stibiotantalite, tantalite-(Mn), thorutite, uraninite, xenotime-(Y), and zircon.[1]

Notes on chemistry

An important admixture in szklaryite is antimony, while titanium, iron, and aluminium occur in trace amounts.[1]

References
  1. Pieczka, A.; Evans, R. J.; Grew, E. S.; Groat, L. A.; Ma, C.; Rossman, G. R. (2013). "The dumortierite supergroup. II. Three new minerals from the Szklary pegmatite, SW Poland: Nioboholtite, (Nb0.6〈0.4)Al6BSi3O18, titanoholtite, (Ti0.75〈0.25)Al6BSi3O18, and szklaryite, 〈Al6BAs3+3O15". Mineralogical Magazine. 77 (6): 2841. doi:10.1180/minmag.2013.077.6.10.
  2. "Szklaryite: Szklaryite mineral information and data". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  3. Pieczka, A., 2000. A rare mineral-bearing pegmatite from the Szklary serpentinite massif, the Fore-Sudetic Block, SW Poland. Geologia Sudetica 33, 23-31
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