Moorhouseite

Moorhouseite is a rare mineral with the formula CoSO4•6H2O, a naturally occurring cobalt(II) sulfate hexahydrate. It is the lower-hydrate-equivalent of bieberite (heptahydrate) and aplowite (hexahydrate). It is also hydrated equivalent of cobaltkieserite. It occurs together with moorhouseite within efflorescences found in the Magnet Cove Barium Corporation mine in Walton, Nova Scotia, Canada.[5][6]

Moorhouseite
General
CategorySulfate mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)		CoSO4•6H2O
Strunz classification7.CB.25
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space groupC2/c
Unit cella = 10.03, b = 7.23,
c = 24.26 [Å], β=98.37o (approximated); Z = 8
Identification
ColorPink
Crystal habitgranular; in crusts and efflorescences
FractureConchoidal
Mohs scale hardness2.5
LusterVitreous
StreakWhite
Density1.97-2.02 (measured)
Common impuritiesNi, Mn, Cu, Fe
References[1][2][3][4]

Notes on chemistry

Relatively high amounts of nickel and manganese were reported, with trace amounts of copper and iron.[7]

Crystal structure

Analysis of synthetic analogue of moorhouseite revealed, that its structure may be described as containing:[8]

  • Co(H2O)6 octahedra, forming alternate layers
  • SO4 tetrahedra
  • hydrogen bonds (two per a single water molecule)

References
  1. Mineralienatlas
  2. Jambor, J.L., and Boyle, R.W., 1984. Moorhouseite and aplowite, new cobalt minerals from Walton, Nova Scotia. Canadian Mineralogist 8, 166-171
  3. "Moorhouseite" (PDF). Handbookofmineralogy.org. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  4. "Moorhouseite: Moorhouseite mineral information and data". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  5. Jambor, J.L., and Boyle, R.W., 1984. Moorhouseite and aplowite, new cobalt minerals from Walton, Nova Scotia. Canadian Mineralogist 8, 166-171
  6. "Moorhouseite: Moorhouseite mineral information and data". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  7. Jambor, J.L., and Boyle, R.W., 1984. Moorhouseite and aplowite, new cobalt minerals from Walton, Nova Scotia. Canadian Mineralogist 8, 166-171
  8. Elerman, Y., 1988. Refinement of the crystal structure of CoSO4.6H2O. Acta Crystallographica C44, 599-601


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.