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Bechererite

Big Photo

Frongoch Mine (Bron-y-Goch Mine; Llawynwnwch Mine), Pontrhydygroes, Upper Llanfihangell-y-Creuddyn, Ceredigion (Dyfed; Cardiganshire), Wales, UK
© Steve Rust

Show Bechererite Photos (22)
Formula:
(Zn,Cu)
 
6
Zn
 
2
[(OH)
 
12
|(SO
 
4
,HSiO
 
4
)
 
2
]
System:TrigonalColour:Light green, Ice Blue, ...
Lustre:VitreousHardness:2 - 3
Name:Named in honour of Dr. Karl Becherer (b. 1926), mineralogist at the University of Vienna, Austria.
This page provides mineralogical data about Bechererite.

Classification of Bechererite

IMA status:Approved 1994
Strunz 8th edition ID:6/D.08-05
Nickel-Strunz 10th (pending) edition ID:7.DD.55

7 : SULFATES (selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates, wolframates)
D : Sulfates (selenates, etc.) with additional anions, with H2O
D : With only medium-sized cations; sheets of edge-sharing octahedra
Dana 7th edition ID:4.0.0.0
mindat.org URL:http://www.mindat.org/min-593.html
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Type Occurrence of Bechererite

Type Locality:Tonopah-Belmont Mine (East Vulture Mine; Belmont-McNeil Mine; Economy Mining Co. Mine), Belmont Mountain, Tonopah, Osborn District, Big Horn Mts, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA

Physical Properties of Bechererite

Lustre:Vitreous
Colour:Light green, Ice Blue, Colourless
Streak:White
Hardness (Mohs):2 - 3

Crystallography of Bechererite

Crystal System:Trigonal
Class (H-M):3 - Pyramidal
Space Group:P3
Cell Parameters:a = 8.319(2) Å, c = 7.377(1) Å
Ratio:a:c = 1 : 0.887
Unit Cell Volume:V 442.13 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:1
Morphology:Hemimorphic elongate trigonal pyramids.

Optical Data of Bechererite

Type:Uniaxial (-)
RI values: nω = 1.705 nε = 1.611
Maximum Birefringence:δ = 0.094

Chart shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness) and does not take into account mineral colouration.
Surface Relief:Moderate

Chemical Properties of Bechererite

Formula:
(Zn,Cu)
 
6
Zn
 
2
[(OH)
 
12
|(SO
 
4
,HSiO
 
4
)
 
2
]
Essential elements:H, O, S, Zn
All elements listed in formula:Cu, H, O, S, Si, Zn

Relationship of Bechererite to other Species

Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping):

- +
7.DD.05Felsőbányaite
Al
 
4
[(OH)
 
10
|SO
 
4
] · 4H
 
2
O
7.DD.10Langite
Cu
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|SO
 
4
] · 2H
 
2
O
7.DD.10Posnjakite
Cu
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|SO
 
4
] · H
 
2
O
7.DD.10Wroewolfeite
Cu
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|SO
 
4
] · 2H
 
2
O
7.DD.15Spangolite
Cu
 
6
Al[(OH)
 
12
|Cl|SO
 
4
] · 3H
 
2
O
7.DD.20Ktenasite
Zn(Cu,Zn)
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|(SO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 6H
 
2
O
7.DD.25Christelite
Cu
 
2
Zn
 
3
[(OH)
 
6
|(SO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 4H
 
2
O
7.DD.30Campigliaite
Mn
2+
 
Cu
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|(SO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 4H
 
2
O
7.DD.30Devilline
CaCu
 
4
(SO
 
4
)
 
2
(OH)
 
6
·3H
 
2
O
7.DD.30Orthoserpierite
Ca(Cu,Zn)
 
4
(SO
 
4
)
 
2
(OH)
 
6
·3H
 
2
O
7.DD.30Serpierite
Ca(Cu,Zn)
 
4
(SO
 
4
)
 
2
(OH)
 
6
·3H
 
2
O
7.DD.30Niedermayrite
CdCu
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|(SO
 
4
)
 
2
] · 4H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Carrboydite
(Ni,Cu)
 
14
Al
 
9
[(OH)
 
43
|(SO
 
4
,CO
 
3
)
 
6
] · 7H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Glaucocerinite
(Zn,Cu)
 
10
Al
 
6
[(OH)
 
32
|(SO
 
4
)
 
3
] · 18H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Honessite
Ni
 
6
Fe
3+
2
[(OH)
 
16
|SO
 
4
] · 4H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Hydrohonessite
Ni
 
6
Fe
3+
2
[(OH)
 
16
|SO
 
4
] · 7H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Motukoreaite
NaMg
 
19
Al
 
12
(CO
 
3
)
 
6.5
(SO
 
4
)
 
4
(OH)
 
54
·28H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Mountkeithite
(Mg,Ni)
 
11
(Fe
3+
 
,Cr
3+
 
,Al)
 
3
[(OH)
 
24
|(SO
 
4
,CO
 
3
)
 
3.5
] · 11H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Shigaite
Al
 
4
Mn
 
7
(SO
 
4
)
 
2
(OH)
 
22
·8H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Wermlandite
Mg
 
7
(Ca,Mg)(Al,Fe)
 
2
(SO
 
4
)
 
2
(OH)
 
18
(H
 
2
O)
 
12
7.DD.35Woodwardite
Cu
 
4
Al
 
2
[(OH)
 
12
|SO
 
4
] · 2-4H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Zincaluminite
Zn
 
6
Al
 
6
[(OH)
 
13
|SO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 5H
 
2
O
7.DD.35Hydrowoodwardite
Cu
 
1-x
Al
 
x
[(OH)
 
2
|(SO
 
4
)
 
x/2
] · nH
 
2
O
7.DD.35Zincowoodwardite
Zn
 
1-x
Al
 
x
(SO
 
4
)
 
x/2
(OH)
 
2
·nH
 
2
O (?)
7.DD.35Natroglaucocerinite
[(Zn,Cu)
 
5
Al
 
3
(OH)
 
16
][(SO
 
4
)
 
1.5
Na
 
1.5
(SO
 
4
)
 
0.75
(H
 
2
O)
 
9
]
7.DD.35Nikischerite
[AlFe
 
2
(OH)
 
6
]
 
3
(SO
 
4
)
 
2
Na(H
 
2
O)
 
6
·6H
 
2
O
7.DD.40Lawsonbauerite
(Mn
2+
 
,Mg)
 
9
Zn
 
4
[(OH)
 
11
|SO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 8H
 
2
O
7.DD.40Torreyite
(Mg,Mn
2+
 
)
 
9
Zn
 
4
[(OH)
 
11
|SO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 8H
 
2
O
7.DD.45Mooreite
(Mg,Zn,Mn
2+
 
)
 
15
[(OH)
 
13
|SO
 
4
]
 
2
 · 8H
 
2
O
7.DD.50Namuwite
(Zn,Cu)
 
4
[(OH)
 
6
|SO
 
4
] · 4H
 
2
O
7.DD.60Ramsbeckite
(Cu,Zn)
 
15
[(OH)
 
22
|(SO
 
4
)
 
4
] · 6H
 
2
O
7.DD.65Vonbezingite
Ca
 
6
Cu
 
3
[(OH)
 
12
|(SO
 
4
)
 
3
] · 2H
 
2
O
7.DD.70Redgillite
Cu
 
6
[(OH)
 
10
|SO
 
4
] · H
 
2
O
7.DD.75Chalcoalumite
CuAl
 
4
[(OH)
 
12
|SO
 
4
] · 3H
 
2
O
7.DD.75Nickelalumite
(Ni,Cu)Al
 
4
[(OH)
 
12
|{SO
 
4
,(NO
 
3
)
 
2
}] · 3H
 
2
O
7.DD.75Kyrgyzstanite
ZnAl
 
4
(SO
 
4
)(OH)
 
12
·3H
 
2
O
7.DD.80Guarinoite
(Zn,Co,Ni)
 
6
[(OH,Cl)
 
10
|SO
 
4
] · 5H
 
2
O
7.DD.80Schulenbergite
(Cu,Zn)
 
7
[(OH)
 
10
|(SO
 
4
,CO
 
3
)
 
2
] · 3H
 
2
O
7.DD.80Thérèsemagnanite
(Co,Zn,Ni)
 
6
(SO
 
4
)(OH,Cl)
 
10
·8H
 
2
O
7.DD.80UM1992-30-SO:CCuHZn
(Zn,Cu)
 
7
[(SO
 
4
,CO
 
3
)
 
2
](OH)
 
10
 · 3H
 
2
O
7.DD.85Montetrisaite
Cu
 
6
(SO
 
4
)(OH)
 
10
·2H
 
2
O
Related Minerals - Dana Grouping):

- +
4.0.0.0Polymignite
(Ca,Fe,Y,Th)(Nb,Ti,Ta,Zr)O
 
4

Other Names for Bechererite

Synonyms:
IMA1994-005
Other Languages:
German:Bechererit
Russian:Бехерерит
Spanish:Bechererita

Other Information

Health Warning:No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

References for Bechererite

Reference List:Mineralogical Record: 27: 393.

Giester, G. and Rieck, B. (1996): Bechererite, (Zn,Cu)6Zn2(OH)13[(S,Si)(O,OH)4]2, a novel mineral species from the Tonopah-Belmont mine, Arizona: American Mineralogist 81, 244-248.

Hoffmann, Ch., Armbruster, Th., Giester, G (1997): Acentric structure (P3) of bechererite, Zn7Cu(OH)13[SiO(OH)3SO4]: American Mineralogist 82, 1014-1018.

Internet Links for Bechererite

Search Engines:
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  • Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project
  • American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database
  • Search for Bechererite in the Natural History Museum (London) online catalogue
  • Bechererite details from Handbook of Mineralogy (PDF)
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    Localities for Bechererite

    Show Locality List (16 Items)
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    Copyright © Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau 1993-2009. Site Map. Locality, mineral & photograph data are the copyright of the individuals who submitted them.Further information contact the Site hosted & developed by Jolyon Ralph. Mindat.org is an online information resource dedicated to providing free mineralogical information to all. Mindat relies on the contributions of hundreds of members and supporters. If you would like to add information to improve the quality of our database, then click here to register. Current server date and time: 7th Nov 2009 05:29:39