Quetzalcoatlite Mineral Data

Quetzalcoatlite Mineral Data +

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General Quetzalcoatlite Information

Chemical Formula:

Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 1,610.23 gm

Zinc 32.49 % Zn 40.44 % ZnO

Copper 15.79 % Cu 17.77 % Cu₂O

Tellurium 23.77 % Te 29.73 % TeO₂

Hydrogen 1.13 % H 10.07 % H₂O

Oxygen 26.83 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 98.01 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Zn₈Cu₄(TeO₃)₃(OH)₁₈

Environment:

Secondary mineral from oxidized telluride-bearing ore bodies

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1973

Locality:

Bambollita mine (La Oriental), Sierra La Huerta, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Quetzalcoatl, a Toltec god of the sea, in allusion of the sea blue-green color of the mineral.

Synonym:

ICSD 89821

PDF 26-485

Quetzalcoatlite Image

Images:

Quetzalcoatlite

Comments: Green encrustation of quetzalcoatlite.
Location: Moctezuma, Mun. de Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico. Scale: Picture size 3.5 mm.
© Thomas Witzke / Abraxas-Verlag

Quetzalcoatlite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:0.48965

Cell Dimensions:

a = 10.097, c = 4.944, Z = 1; V = 436.51 Den(Calc)= 6.13

Crystal System:

Hexagonal - TrapezohedralH-M Symbol (6 2 2) Space Group: C6322

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 8.752(1), 2.748(0.7), 3.531(0.4),

Crystal Structure:

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Burns P C , Pluth J J , Smith J V , Eng P , Steele I M , Housley R M , American Mineralogist , 85 (2000) p.604-607, Quetzalcoatlite: New octahedral-tetrahedral structure from 2x2x40 micron, crystal at the Advanced Photon Source-GSE-CARS Facility

Physical Properties of Quetzalcoatlite

Cleavage:

[1010] Distinct

Color:

Blue.

Density:

6.05

Fracture:

Brittle - Generally displayed by glasses and most non-metallic minerals.

Hardness:

3 - Calcite

Optical Properties of Quetzalcoatlite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.361 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.369 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1258,KPDmeas= 0.1274,KC= 0.1995

Optical Data:

Uniaxial (-), e=1.74, w=1.802, bire=0.0620.

Calculated Properties of Quetzalcoatlite

Electron Density:

r_electron=5.61 gm/cc
note: r_{Quetzalcoatlite}=6.05 gm/cc.

Fermion Index

Fermion Index = 0.03244
Boson Index = 0.96756

Photoelectric:

PE_{Quetzalcoatlite}= 102.68 barns/electron
U=PE_{Quetzalcoatlite} x r_electron= 575.63 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Quetzalcoatlite is Not Radioactive

Quetzalcoatlite Classification

Dana Class:

34.6.3.1 (34)Selenites - Tellurites - Sulfites

(34.6)Dana Type

(34.6.3)Dana Group

34.6.3.1 Quetzalcoatlite Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18 C6322 6 2 2

Strunz Class:

IV/K.10-40 IV - Oxides

IV/K - Sulfides, selenides, tellurides with [XO3]2- groups and related structures

IV/K.10 - Keystoneite - Francisite series

IV/K.10-10 Keystoneite Mg0.5[NiFe(TeO3)3]·4.5(H2O) P 6₃/m 6/m

IV/K.10-20 Kinichilite Mg0.5[MnFe(TeO3)3]·4.5(H2O) P 6₃/m 6/m

IV/K.10-30 Zemannite Mg0.5[ZnFe(TeO3)3]·4.5(H2O) P 6₃/m 6/m

IV/K.10-40 Quetzalcoatlite Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18 C6322 6 2 2

IV/K.10-50 Francisite Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2Cl Pmmn 2/m 2/m 2/m

Other Quetzalcoatlite Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Quetzalcoatlite :
1 -Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database 2 - Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery 3 -Athena 4 - EUROmin Project 5 -Google Images 6 -Google Scholar 7 -Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA) 8 -MinDAT 9 -MinMax(Deutsch) 10 -MinMax(English) 11 -Mineralienatlas (Deutsch) 12 -QUT Mineral Atlas 13 -École des Mines de Paris

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Quetzalcoatlite Specimen Label here :

Quetzalcoatlite

Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18
Dana No: 34.6.3.1 Strunz No: IV/K.10-40
Locality:

Notes: