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Gortdrumite, Cu24Fe2Hg9S23, from Leogang, Salzburg, Austria: crystal structure and revision of the chemical formula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2018

Luca Bindi ,
Werner H. Paar  and
Peter Leblhuber
Luca Bindi*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy CNR - Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Sezione di Firenze, Via G. La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy
Werner H. Paar
Affiliation:
Pezoltgasse 46, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
Peter Leblhuber
Affiliation:
TIWAG, Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz 2, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
*
*E-mail: luca.bindi@unifi.it
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Abstract

The crystal structure of the mineral gortdrumite, a rare copper-mercury-iron sulfide, was solved using intensity data collected using a crystal from the Neuschurf adit, Leogang, Salzburg, Austria. This study revealed that the structure is triclinic, space group P$\bar 1$, with cell parameters: a = 9.677(4), b = 9.865(5), c = 11.992(5) Å, α = 77.85(4), β = 79.42(3), γ = 76.30(4)°, V = 1076.5(8) Å3 and Z = 1. The refinement led to an R index of 0.0833 for 3335 independent reflections and 143 parameters. Twelve S sites (one with half occupancy) and eighteen metal sites (5 Hg, 12 Cu and 1 Fe) occur in the crystal structure of gortdrumite. Mercury cations link two sulfur atoms in a linear coordination, Cu cations are found in various low-coordination (2, 3 and 4) sites, in agreement with the Cu preference for such environments, and Fe in tetrahedral coordination. Metal–metal interactions are also present and these contacts are discussed in relation with other copper sulfides, intermetallics and pure metals. Electron microprobe analyses of the crystal used for the structural study led to the formula Cu24.83Fe1.73Hg9.09S22.35, on the basis of 58 atoms. On the basis of information gained from the structural and chemical characterization, the crystal-chemical formula was revised to Cu24Fe2Hg9S23 (Z = 1) instead of (Cu,Fe)6Hg2S5 as reported previously.

Keywords

gortdrumitecrystal structurechemical compositionCu-sulfidesLeogangAustria
Type
Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 82 , Issue 4 , August 2018 , pp. 853 - 861
Copyright
Copyright © Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2018 

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: Andrew Christy

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