Chanabayaite | |
---|---|
General | |
Category | Organic mineral |
Formula (repeating unit) | Cu 2(N 3C 2H 2Cl(NH 3,Cl,H 2O,[]) 4 |
IMA symbol | Cba[1] |
Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
Crystal class | Dipyramidal (mmm) H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) |
Space group | Imma |
Unit cell | a = 19.48, b = 7.21, c = 11.999 [Å] (approximated); Z = 4 |
Identification | |
Color | Blue |
Crystal habit | Prisms (imperfect); radial aggregates |
Cleavage | (001), perfect; (100) and (010), imperfect |
Tenacity | Brittle |
Mohs scale hardness | 2 |
Density | 1.48 (measured) |
Pleochroism | Deep blue to pale blue with gray hue (strong) |
References | [2][3][4] |
Chanabayaite is the first recognized triazolate mineral, having the formula Cu
2(N
3C
2H
2Cl(NH
3,Cl,H
2O,[])
4.
Minor iron admixture is also present.[3] It is also one of a few currently known minerals containing ammine groups, including also ammineite, joanneumite and shilovite.[5][6][7] All the minerals are rare and were found in a single guano deposit in Chile, called Pabellón de Pica.[4] A similar natural phase, formula NaCu
2Cl
3[N
3C
2H
2]
2[NH
3]
2•4H
2O, likely a precursor of chanabayaite, is described by Zubkova et al. 2016.[8]