Herbertsmithite
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Formula:
Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2
Colour:
light green, blue-green, emerald green
Lustre:
Vitreous
Hardness:
3 - 3½
Specific Gravity:
3.85 - 3.95
Crystal System:
Trigonal
Member of:
Name:
Honouring Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith (1872-1953) of the Natural History Museum, London, England, who discovered the mineral paratacamite.
Type Locality:
Isostructural with:
Atacamite Group.
A polymorph of (metastable) kapellasite.
Closely related to paratacamite and easily confused with twinned clinoatacamite.
On heating paratacamite reversibly transforms into herbertsmithite between 353 and 393 K (Welch et al., 2014).
The Zn analogue of gillardite and leverettite.
This mineral gained attention in March 2007 when it was reported that it has very specific and unusual physical properties that make it behave as a new type of matter (see references).
A polymorph of (metastable) kapellasite.
Closely related to paratacamite and easily confused with twinned clinoatacamite.
On heating paratacamite reversibly transforms into herbertsmithite between 353 and 393 K (Welch et al., 2014).
The Zn analogue of gillardite and leverettite.
This mineral gained attention in March 2007 when it was reported that it has very specific and unusual physical properties that make it behave as a new type of matter (see references).
Classification of Herbertsmithite
Approved
Approval Year:
2003
3/D.01-57
3.DA.10c
3 : HALIDES
D : Oxyhalides, hydroxyhalides and related double halides
A : With Cu, etc., without Pb
3 : HALIDES
D : Oxyhalides, hydroxyhalides and related double halides
A : With Cu, etc., without Pb
Physical Properties of Herbertsmithite
Vitreous
Transparency:
Transparent
Colour:
light green, blue-green, emerald green
Streak:
light green
Hardness:
3 - 3½ on Mohs scale
Tenacity:
Brittle
Cleavage:
Distinct/Good
on {10_11}
on {10_11}
Density:
3.85 - 3.95 g/cm3 (Measured) 3.76 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Chemical Properties of Herbertsmithite
Formula:
Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2
Crystallography of Herbertsmithite
Crystal System:
Trigonal
Class (H-M):
3m (3 2/m) - Hexagonal Scalenohedral
Space Group:
R3m
Cell Parameters:
a = 6.834 Å, c = 14.075 Å
Ratio:
a:c = 1 : 2.06
Unit Cell V:
569.28 ų
Z:
3
Morphology:
Platy, pseudohexagonal crystals to 0.5 mm (Iran); rhombohedrons and pseudo-octahedra to 1.5 mm (Chile).
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 5.466 | (55) |
| 4.702 | (14) |
| 2.899 | (11) |
| 2.764 | (100) |
| 2.730 | (13) |
| 2.266 | (36) |
| 1.820 | (13) |
| 1.709 | (18) |
Comments:
XRD pattern quite similar to those for atacamite, clinoatacamite and paratacamite, but herbertsmithite is readily distinguished from these by infrared spectroscopy and SXRD
Type Occurrence of Herbertsmithite
General Appearance of Type Material:
Rhombohedrons to 1.5 mm across.
Synonyms of Herbertsmithite
Other Language Names for Herbertsmithite
German:Anarakit
Italian:Herbertsmithite
Simplified Chinese:氯羟锌铜石
Spanish:Anarakita
Traditional Chinese:氯羥鋅銅石
Relationship of Herbertsmithite to other Species
Member of:
Other Members of this group:
| Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| Botallackite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| Clinoatacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| Gillardite | Cu3Ni(OH)6Cl2 |
| Haydeeite | Cu3Mg(OH)6Cl2 |
| Iyoite | MnCuCl(OH)3 |
| Kapellasite | Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2 |
| Leverettite | Cu3Co(OH)6Cl2 |
| Misakiite | Cu3Mn(OH)6Cl2 |
| Paratacamite | Cu3(Cu,Zn)(OH)6Cl2 |
| Paratacamite-(Mg) | Cu3(Mg,Cu)(OH)6Cl2 |
| Paratacamite-(Ni) | Cu3(Ni,Cu)(OH)6Cl2 |
| Tondiite | Cu3Mg(OH)6Cl2 |
| Unnamed (Cu-Zn Chloride Hydroxide) | CuZnCl(OH)3 |
Common Associates
Associated Minerals Based on Photo Data:
| Wulfenite | 16 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Wulfenite on mindat.org. |
| Christelite | 10 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Christelite on mindat.org. |
| Linarite | 7 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Linarite on mindat.org. |
| Malachite | 7 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Malachite on mindat.org. |
| Chrysocolla | 7 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Chrysocolla on mindat.org. |
| Coronadite | 7 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Coronadite on mindat.org. |
| Cerussite | 7 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Cerussite on mindat.org. |
| Quartz | 2 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Quartz on mindat.org. |
| Bobkingite | 2 photos of Herbertsmithite associated with Bobkingite on mindat.org. |
| Gordaite | 1 photo of Herbertsmithite associated with Gordaite on mindat.org. |
Related Minerals - Nickel-Strunz Grouping
| 3.DA.05 | Melanothallite | Cu2Cl2O |
| 3.DA.10a | Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| 3.DA.10b | Botallackite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| 3.DA.10b | Clinoatacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| 3.DA.10a | Hibbingite | Fe2+2(OH)3Cl |
| 3.DA.10a | Kempite | Mn2+2(OH)3Cl |
| 3.DA.10c | Paratacamite | Cu3(Cu,Zn)(OH)6Cl2 |
| 3.DA.10b | Belloite | Cu(OH)Cl |
| 3.DA.10c | Kapellasite | Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2 |
| 3.DA.10c | Gillardite | Cu3Ni(OH)6Cl2 |
| 3.DA.10c | Haydeeite | Cu3Mg(OH)6Cl2 |
| 3.DA.15 | Claringbullite | Cu4ClF(OH)6 |
| 3.DA.15 | Barlowite | Cu4BrF(OH)6 |
| 3.DA.20 | Simonkolleite | Zn5Cl2(OH)8 · H2O |
| 3.DA.25 | Buttgenbachite | Cu19(NO3)2(OH)32Cl4 · 2H2O |
| 3.DA.25 | Connellite | Cu19(SO4)(OH)32Cl4 · 3H2O |
| 3.DA.30 | Abhurite | Sn21Cl16(OH)14O6 |
| 3.DA.35 | Ponomarevite | K4Cu4Cl10O |
| 3.DA.40 | Anthonyite | Cu(OH,Cl)2 · 3H2O |
| 3.DA.40 | Calumetite | Cu(OH,Cl)2 · 2H2O |
| 3.DA.45 | Khaidarkanite | Na0.34Cu4Al3(OH)14F3 · 2H2O |
| 3.DA.50 | Bobkingite | Cu5Cl2(OH)8 · 2H2O |
| 3.DA.55 | Avdoninite | K2Cu5(OH)4Cl8 · H2O |
| 3.DA.60 | Droninoite | Ni6Fe2+3(OH)16Cl2 · 4H2O |
Fluorescence of Herbertsmithite
none
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
References for Herbertsmithite
Reference List:
Sort by Year (asc) | by Year (desc) | by Author (A-Z) | by Author (Z-A)
Braithwaite, R.S.W., Mereiter, K., Paar, W.H., Clark, A.M. (2004) Herbertsmithite, Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2, a new species, and the definition of paratacamite. Mineralogical Magazine: 68: 527-539.
Mandarino, J.A. (2004) New minerals. The Canadian Mineralogist: 42: 1901-1927.
Weiß, S. (2004) Lapis: 29(12): 38-39.
Jambor, J.L., Grew, E.S., Roberts, A.C. (2005) New mineral names. American Mineralogist: 90: 518-522.
Helton, J.S., Matan, K., Shores, M.P., Nytko, E.A., Bartlett, B.M., Yoshida, Y., Takano, Y., Suslov, A., Qiu, Y., Chung, J.-H., Nocera, D.G., Lee, Y.S. (2007) Spin Dynamics of the Spin-1/2 Kagomé Lattice Antiferromagnet ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2. Physical Review Letters: 98: 107204. [http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0610539v4]
Misguich, G., Sindzingre, P. (2007) Magnetic susceptibility and specific heat of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice and experimental data on ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2. The European Physical Journal B: 59: 305-309.
Bert, F., Olariu, A., Zorko, A., Mendels, P., Trombe, J.C., Duc, F., de Vries, M.A., Harrison, A., Hillier, A.D., Lord, J., Amato, A., Baines, C. (2009) Frustrated magnetism in the quantum Kagome Herbertsmithite ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2 antiferromagnet. Journal of Physics: Conf. Ser. 145, 012004.
Freedman, D.E., Han, T.H., Prodi, A., Müller, P., Huang, Q.Z., Chen, Y.S., Webb, S.M., Lee, Y.S., McQueen, T.M., Nocera, D.G. (2010) Site specific X-ray anomalous dispersion of the geometrically frustrated Kagomé Magnet, herbertsmithite, ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2. Journal of the American Chemical Society: 132: 16185-16190.
Ofer, O., Keren, A., Brewer, J.H., Han, T.H., Lee, Y.S. (2011) The Herbertsmithite Hamiltonian: μSR measurements on single crystals. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter: 23: 164207.
Mendels, P., Bert, F. (2011) Quantum kagome antiferromagnet : ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2. Journal of Physics: Conf. Ser.: 320: 012004.
Shaginyan, V.R., Msezane, A.Z., Popov, K.G., Japaridze, G.S., Stephanovich, V.A. (2012) Identification of strongly correlated spin liquid in herbertsmithite. EPL: 97: 5600.
Nilsen, G.J., de Vries, M.A., Stewart, J.R., Harrison, A., Rønnow, H.M. (2013) Low-energy spin dynamics of the s = 1/2 kagome system herbertsmithite. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter: 25: 106001.
Welch, M.D., Sciberras, M.J., Williams, P.A., Leverett, P., Schlüter, J., Malcherek, T. (2014) A temperature-induced reversible transformation between paratacamite and herbertsmithite. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals: 41: 33-48.
Internet Links for Herbertsmithite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-26600.html
Please feel free to link to this page.
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External Links:
Mineral Dealers:
Localities for Herbertsmithite
This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the 
symbol to view information about a locality.
The symbol next to localities in the list
can be used to jump to that position on the map.
symbol to view information about a locality.
The symbol next to localities in the list
can be used to jump to that position on the map.
(TL) indicates type locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) indicates first recorded locality for everything else. ? indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. All other localities listed without reference should be considered as uncertain and unproven until references can be found.
Australia | |
| Matthew Joseph Sciberras (2013) SUBSTITUTION IN BASIC SECONDARY Cu(II) CHLORIDE MINERALS. PhD thesis, University of Western Sydney |
Chile | |
| Arfè, G., Boni, M., Mondillo, N., Aiello, R., Balassone, G., Arseneau, V. and Soyk, D. (2016): Supergene alteration in the Capricornio Au-Ag epithermal vein system, Antofagasta Region, Chile. Can. Mineral. 54, 681-706. |
| Samples analysed by Dr. Jochen Schluter (Hamburg University), Germany. |
| Samples analysed by Dr. Jochen Schluter (Hamburg University), Germany. | |
| S. Weiß: Lapis (2004): 29(12): 38-39. |
| S. Weiß: Lapis 29(12):38-39 (2004); Uwe Kolitsch (single-crystal structure refinement) | |
| R. S. W. Braithwaite et al.: Mineralogical Magazine 68(3):527-539 (2004) | |
| S. Weiß: Lapis 29(12):38-39 (2004); Uwe Kolitsch (single-crystal structure refinement) | |
| Samples analysed by Dr. Jochen Schluter (Hamburg University), Germany. | |
| maurizio dini collection - analysed material |
| sample analysed by Tony Kampf, senior curator of NHM of LAC, California |
| Samples analysed by Dr. Jochen Schluter (Hamburg University), Germany. |
Greece | |
| W. Krause, H.-J. Bernhardt, R. S. W. Braithwaite, U. Kolitsch and R. Pritchard (2006): Kapellasite, Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2, a new mineral from Lavrion, Greece. Mineralogical Magazine 70, 331-342; Kolitsch, U., Rieck, B., Brandstätter, F., Schreiber, F., Fabritz, K. H., Blaß, G. & Gröbner, J. (2014): Neufunde aus dem altem Bergbau und den Schlacken von Lavrion (I). Mineralien-Welt 25 (1), 60-75 (in German). |
Iran | |
| S. Weiß: Lapis 29(12):38-39 (2004); Bariand, P. 1963. Contribution à la minéralogie de l’lran. Bulletin de la Société Française de minéralogie et de cristallographie, 86: 17-64. [Locality description in brief and mineralogical list with photographs] Bariand, P. 2003. Un apercu général sur la Minéralogie de I'Iran. Le Règne Minéral, 54: 41-51. |
| S. Weiß: Lapis 29(12):38-39 (2004) | |
| Vachik Hairapetian collection |
Namibia | |
| Bezing, L. von., Bode, R., and Jahn, S., (2014) Namibia Minerals and Localities I. Edition Krüger-Stiftung, Bode Verlag GmbH, Salzhemmendorf, Germany, 608 pp (in English) |
USA | |
| Analyzed by the University of Arizona. |
San Francisco Mine, Caracoles, Sierra Gorda District, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta Region, Chile