Fluckite
| Fluckite | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Category | Arsenate mineral |
| Formula (repeating unit) | CaMnH2(AsO4) 2·2H2O [1] |
| Space group | Triclinic |
| Identification | |
| Color | Colorless, Light to Dark Pink |
| Crystal habit | Crystals prismatic, typically radiating to spherulitic |
| Cleavage | (010) Perfect, (100) Good, (101) Indistinct |
| Mohs scale hardness | 3.5-4 |
| Luster | glassy |
| Streak | white |
| Density | 3.05 |
| Optical properties | Biaxial (+), probable α = 1.618 β = 1.627 γ= 1.642 2V(meas.)=Very large |
| Refractive index | translucent |
| Birefringence | 0.024 |
| References | [1][2][3][4] |
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Fluckite is a mineral with the chemical formula CaMnH2(AsO4)2·2H2O [1]
Fluckite is named after the minerologist Pierre Fluck of Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France.[2] Fluckite's mineral crystallography is triclinic meaning it has three axis all of different length and three interior different unequal interior angles. Because Fluckite possesses three axes with different angles and lengths it is an anisotropic mineral which means that it has more than one optic axis. This mineral is a member of the P1 space group so it can be rotated 360 degrees and inverted to obtain the original figure. Optically, this mineral has positive biaxial birefringence which can be found in thin section by inserting the polarizers, condensing lens, and Bertrand lens on highest power and obtaining a figure that is blue in the Northeast and Southwest corners of the figure. Fluckite possesses moderate optical relief which is the degree to which the mineral stands out from the mounting medium.[1] The mineral was found in the Gabe-Gottes Mine in france at 100m.[5] The mineral contains Arsenic in the form of Arsenate HAsO4 As(V). Arsenic has a myriad of uses "metallurgy, wood preservation, painting, medicine, pest control, and as an additive to chicken feed, where it increases growth," as well as a strong and common poison.[6] This form of arsenate is often found in groundwater from deep wells and is a toxic substance.
References
- ^ a b c d Fluckite: mindat.org
- ^ a b Fluckite: webmineral.com
- ^ Fluckite: Mineral Atlas
- ^ Fluckite: Handbook of Mineralogy
- ^ M. Fleischer, L.J. Cabri, G.Y. Chao, and A. Pabst (1980) New Mineral Names*, American Mineralogist, 65,1065-1070.
- ^ L. R. Croal, J.A. Gralnick, D. Malasarn, D.K. Newman. (2004) The Genetics of Geochemistry, Annual Review of Genetics, 38, 175-202.
- Y. T. He, A. G. Fitzmaurice, A. Bilgin, S. Choi, P. O’Day, J. Horst, J. Harrington, H. J. Reisinger, D. R. Burris J. G. Hering (2010) Geochemical processes controlling arsenic mobility in groundwater; a case study of arsenic mobilization and natural attenuation*, Applied geochemistry 25(1), 69.