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Colinowensite, BaCuSi2O6, a new mineral from the Kalahari Manganese Field, South Africa and new data on wesselsite, SrCuSi4O10

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

B. Rieck ,
H. Pristacz  and
G. Giester
B. Rieck
Affiliation:
Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallographie, Universität Wien, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
H. Pristacz
Affiliation:
Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallographie, Universität Wien, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
G. Giester*
Affiliation:
Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallographie, Universität Wien, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
*
*E-mail: gerald.giester@univie.ac.at
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Abstract

A new silicate, colinowensite, BaCuSi2O6, has been found in the Wessels mine, Kalahari Manganese Field, South Africa. It is associated with effenbergerite, wesselsite, lavinskyite, scottyite, diegogattaite, as well as with pectolite, quartz, aegirine, richterite, minerals of the garnet group and a number of different manganese and iron oxides, especially hausmannite and hematite. The mineral was named for the mineral collector and finder of the new species, Colin R. Owens, of Somerset West, South Africa. Colinowensite is brittle, with uneven fracture, and the estimated Mohs hardness is ∼4. It occurs as subhedral crystals <100 μm in size. The forms {100} and {110} are observed while {001} is always present in cleavage plates. The calculated density is 4.236 g cm–3. It is the natural analogue of the synthetic pigmentreferred to as Chinese or Han purple, which is found on artifacts from ancient and imperial China. The mineral is of dark blue to purple colour, with a purple streak, and is uniaxial (–), with ω = 1.740 (20), ε = 1.735 (20) (420 nm) and ω = 1.745 (20), ε = 1.730(20) (650 nm). The lustre is vitreous and no fluorescence is observed under either shortwave or longwave ultraviolet radiation. Avery strong pleochroism occurs from purple along the c axis to blue in a perpendicular direction. Colinowensite is not soluble in acids except HF. Electron microprobe analyses gave an average composition (wt.%) of CuO 22.53, BaO 43.43 and SiO2 34.04 yielding the empirical formula (based on 6 O a.p.f.u.) BaCuSi2O6. The new mineral is tetragonal, space group I41/acd with Z = 16, anda = 9.967(1), c = 22.290 (2) Å. Colinowensite is a cyclosilicate with [Si4O12]8– 4-membered single rings, arranged in sheets parallel to (001). The structure is further characterized by CuO4 squares sharing corners with four neighbouring silicate rings within a sheet. Ba2+ cations are bonded to ten O atoms in irregular coordination. Average Si–O, Cu–O and Ba–O bond lengths are 1.619, 1.934 and 2.943 Å, respectively. Colinowensite belongs to subdivision 9. CE of the Strunz Mineralogical Tables. In addition, based on single-crystal X-ray work, new structural data for wesselsite of chemical composition Sr0.9Ba0.1CuSi4O10 are provided.

Keywords

ColinowensiteBaCuSi2O6new mineralWessels MineKalahari Manganese FieldSouth AfricaWesselsiteSrCuSi4O10
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 79 , Issue 7 , December 2015 , pp. 1769 - 1778
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2015

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