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Scheelite

A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered
This page kindly sponsored by Dana Slaughter
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About ScheeliteHide

04214250014946262177587.png
Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Formula:
Ca(WO4)
Colour:
Tan, golden-yellow, colourless, white, greenish, dark brown, etc.; colourless in transmitted light
Lustre:
Adamantine, Vitreous
Hardness:
4½ - 5
Specific Gravity:
6.1
Crystal System:
Tetragonal
Member of:
Name:
Named in 1821 by Karl Caesar von Leonhard in honor of Carl Wilhelm Scheele [December 9, 1742, Stralsund, Pomerania, Sweden - May 21, 1786, Köping, Sweden], Swedish experimental chemist and commercial apothecary. His experimental work was monumental for the time period and he discovered chlorine and experimented with oxygen before Joseph Priestley recognized it as an element. He investigated many fundamentally important organic compounds. He proved the existence of tungstic oxide in the mineral now bearing his name in 1781.
Isostructural with:
Powellite-Scheelite Series.

A primary mineral commonly found as a component of contact-metamorphic tactite; in high-temperature hydrothermal veins and greisen; in granitic pegmatites and medium-temperature hydrothermal veins; in alluvial deposits.




Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:
3560
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:3560:2
GUID
(UUID V4):
af2724a3-bdd9-4f65-b017-851aa5e1bb71

IMA Classification of ScheeliteHide

Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)

Classification of ScheeliteHide

7.GA.05

7 : SULFATES (selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates, wolframates)
G : Molybdates, Wolframates and Niobates
A : Without additional anions or H2O
48.1.2.1

48 : ANHYDROUS MOLYBDATES AND TUNGSTATES
1 : AXO4
27.4.2

27 : Sulphites, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
4 : Tungstates

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Please only use the official IMA–CNMNC symbol. Older variants are listed for historical use only.

SymbolSourceReference
SchIMA–CNMNCWarr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43
SchKretz (1983)Kretz, R. (1983) Symbols of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 68, 277–279.
SchWhitney & Evans (2010)Whitney, D.L. and Evans, B.W. (2010) Abbreviations for names of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 95, 185–187 doi:10.2138/am.2010.3371
SchThe Canadian Mineralogist (2019)The Canadian Mineralogist (2019) The Canadian Mineralogist list of symbols for rock- and ore-forming minerals (December 30, 2019). download

Physical Properties of ScheeliteHide

Adamantine, Vitreous
Transparency:
Transparent, Opaque
Colour:
Tan, golden-yellow, colourless, white, greenish, dark brown, etc.; colourless in transmitted light
Comment:
May be compositionally colour zoned.
Streak:
White
Hardness:
4½ - 5 on Mohs scale
Cleavage:
Distinct/Good
Distinct on {101}, interrupted on {112}, indistinct on {001}.
Fracture:
Irregular/Uneven, Sub-Conchoidal
Density:
6.1(2) g/cm3 (Measured)    6.09 g/cm3 (Calculated)

Optical Data of ScheeliteHide

Type:
Uniaxial (+)
RI values:
nω = 1.918 - 1.921 nε = 1.935 - 1.938
Max Birefringence:
δ = 0.017
Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness)
and does not take into account mineral colouration.
Surface Relief:
Very High
Comments:
May exhibit weak anomalous birefringence.

Chemistry of ScheeliteHide

Mindat Formula:
Ca(WO4)
Common Impurities:
Mo,Nb,Ta

Crystallography of ScheeliteHide

Crystal System:
Tetragonal
Class (H-M):
4/m - Dipyramidal
Space Group:
I41/a
Cell Parameters:
a = 5.2429(3) Å, c = 11.3737(6) Å
Ratio:
a:c = 1 : 2.169
Unit Cell V:
312.64 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:
4
Morphology:
Crystals commonly pseudo-octahedral {011} or {112} predominant, with modifying forms include {001} {013}, {121} and/or several additional; tabular on {001} at times; {001} commonly rough; {112} frequently diagonally striated, usually parallel to [311], the intersection with {121}. Usually granular, massive; also columnar.
Twinning:
On {110} common, penetration and contact twins with a composition plane of (110)or (001).
Comment:
On synthetic material.

Crystallographic forms of ScheeliteHide

Crystal Atlas:
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Scheelite no.7 - Goldschmidt (1913-1926)
3d models and HTML5 code kindly provided by www.smorf.nl.

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Crystal StructureHide

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IDSpeciesReferenceLinkYearLocalityPressure (GPa)Temp (K)
0013201ScheeliteHazen R M, Finger L W, Mariathasan J W E (1985) High-pressure crystal chemistry of scheelite-type tungstates and molybdates Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 46 253-26319850.0001293
0013202ScheeliteHazen R M, Finger L W, Mariathasan J W E (1985) High-pressure crystal chemistry of scheelite-type tungstates and molybdates Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 46 253-26319850.0001293
0013203ScheeliteHazen R M, Finger L W, Mariathasan J W E (1985) High-pressure crystal chemistry of scheelite-type tungstates and molybdates Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 46 253-26319851.03293
0013204ScheeliteHazen R M, Finger L W, Mariathasan J W E (1985) High-pressure crystal chemistry of scheelite-type tungstates and molybdates Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 46 253-26319852.03293
0013205ScheeliteHazen R M, Finger L W, Mariathasan J W E (1985) High-pressure crystal chemistry of scheelite-type tungstates and molybdates Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 46 253-26319853.12293
0013206ScheeliteHazen R M, Finger L W, Mariathasan J W E (1985) High-pressure crystal chemistry of scheelite-type tungstates and molybdates Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 46 253-26319854.09293
CIF Raw Data - click here to close

Epitaxial Relationships of ScheeliteHide

Epitaxial Minerals:
Epitaxy Comments:
Scheelite on wolframite, with scheelite {001} [110] parallel to wolframite {010} [001].

Discrete crystals of fluorite on the (111) face of scheelite from the Tae Hwa mine, Korea (So et al. 1983).

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

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Radiation - Copper Kα
Data Set:
Data courtesy of RRUFF project at University of Arizona, used with permission.
Powder Diffraction Data:
d-spacingIntensity
4.76 Å(55)
3.10 Å(100)
3.072 Å(30)
2.622 Å(25)
2.296 Å(20)
1.928 Å(30)
1.592 Å(30)

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):
Paragenetic ModeEarliest Age (Ga)
Near-surface Processes
26 : Hadean detrital minerals
High-𝑇 alteration and/or metamorphism
31 : Thermally altered carbonate, phosphate, and iron formations
Stage 4b: Highly evolved igneous rocks>3.0
34 : Complex granite pegmatites
Geological Setting:
Contact metamorphic tactites, high-temperature hydrothermal veins, greisens, and granitic pegmatites; alluvial deposits.

Type Occurrence of ScheeliteHide

Synonyms of ScheeliteHide

Other Language Names for ScheeliteHide

Varieties of ScheeliteHide

Copper-bearing ScheeliteA Cu-bearing variety of scheelite (possibly mixture with cuprotungstite).

Originally reported from La Paz, Mun. de La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
MolybdoscheeliteA molybdenum-bearing variety of scheelite

Relationship of Scheelite to other SpeciesHide

Member of:
Other Members of this group:
PowelliteCa(MoO4)Tet. 4/m : I41/a
RaspitePb(WO4)Mon. 2/m : P21/b
RonpetersoniteBaWO4Tet. 4/m : I41/a
StolzitePb(WO4)Tet. 4/m : I41/a
WulfenitePb(MoO4)Tet. 4/m : I41/a
Forms a series with:

Common AssociatesHide

Associated Minerals Based on Photo Data:
1,102 photos of Scheelite associated with QuartzSiO2
699 photos of Scheelite associated with MuscoviteKAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
315 photos of Scheelite associated with CalciteCaCO3
298 photos of Scheelite associated with FluoriteCaF2
150 photos of Scheelite associated with DolomiteCaMg(CO3)2
132 photos of Scheelite associated with FerberiteFeWO4
116 photos of Scheelite associated with PyriteFeS2
102 photos of Scheelite associated with ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
100 photos of Scheelite associated with AlbiteNa(AlSi3O8)
92 photos of Scheelite associated with ArsenopyriteFeAsS

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

7.GA.05Fergusonite-(Ce)CeNbO4 · 0.3H2OTet.
7.GA.05Fergusonite-(Nd)NdNbO4
7.GA.05Fergusonite-(Y)YNbO4Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.05PowelliteCa(MoO4)Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.05StolzitePb(WO4)Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.05WulfenitePb(MoO4)Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.05SuseinargiuiteNaBi(MoO4)2Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.05RonpetersoniteBaWO4Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.10Formanite-(Y)YTaO4Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.10Iwashiroite-(Y)Y(Ta,Nb)O4Mon. 2/m : P2/b
7.GA.15Paraniite-(Y)Ca2Y(AsO4)(WO4)2Tet. 4/m : I41/a
7.GA.20Takanawaite-(Y)YTaO4Mon. 2/m

Fluorescence of ScheeliteHide

Inherently brightly fluorescent (SW UV & X-rays). Pure end-member material ubiquitously fluoresces bright blue-white (SW UV), but even a small amount of Mo substituting for W produces a creamy yellow fluorescence (SW UV), becoming more yellow with increasing % of Mo. A moderate Fe content can quench the fluorescence. It usually has no response to LW UV but some specimens will fluoresce pink to this band.

Other InformationHide

Thermal Behaviour:
Thermoluminescent.
Notes:
Decomposed by HCl or HNO3, leaving a yellow powder of hydrous tungstic oxide, which is soluble in ammonia.

Alters to Tungstite, Hydrotungstite, or Cuprotungstite.

Replaced by Wolframite as perfect pseudomorphs. Often replaces Wolframite.
Pseudomorphs of Quartz, Kaolinite, and Bismutite after Scheelite have been noted.
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Industrial Uses:
Ore of tungsten

Scheelite in petrologyHide

An essential component of rock names highlighted in red, an accessory component in rock names highlighted in green.

Internet Links for ScheeliteHide

References for ScheeliteHide

Reference List:

Localities for ScheeliteHide

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.

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