Editorial Feature

Vlodavetsite – Occurrence, Properties, and Distribution

Vlodavetsite is a tetragonal-dipyramidal mineral that contains aluminum, chlorine, fluorine, calcium, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur. Vlodavetsite was named after Vladimir Ivanovich Vlodavets (1893–1993), a volcanologist who founded the Kamchatka volcanological station.

Properties of Vlodavetsite

The following are the key properties of Vlodavetsite:

  • Cell Data
    • Space group: I4/m
    • a = 6.870(1)
    • c = 13.342(2)
    • Z = 2
  • Crystal Data
    • Tetragonal
    • Point group: 4/m
    • Crystals square to rectangular, tabular to scaly, to 0.3 mm, showing {001}, {100}; commonly fine-grained massive
    • X-ray powder pattern: 3.431 (100), 3.335 (80), 6.67 (60), 3.922 (50), 3.729 (40), 3.052 (40), 2.483 (40)
  • Chemical Composition
    Elements Content 1 Content 2
    SO3 35.97 36.00
    CaO 25.11 25.22
    H2O 16.10 16.20
    Al2O3 12.37 11.46
    F 8.1 8.54
    Cl 6.08 7.97
    -O = (F, Cl)2 4.78 5.39
    Total 98.95 100.00
  • Optical Properties
    • Optical class: Uniaxial (+)
    • ω = 1.509(2)
    • ε = 1.526(3)
  • Estimated Properties
    Electron density Bulk density (electron density)=2.37 gm/cm3
    note: Specific gravity of vlodavetsite = 2.35 gm/cm3
    Photoelectric PEVlodavetsite = 3.83 barns/electron
    U=PEVlodavetsite x ρelectron density= 9.07 barns/cm3
    Fermion index Fermion index = 0.0015346324
    Boson index = 0.9984653676
    Radioactivity
     
    GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
    Vlodavetsite is not radioactive

How to Identify Vlodavetsite

Vlodavetsite can be identified in the field by its colorless or yellow white variations. The appearance of this mineral is transparent. It is a transparent mineral with a glassy lustre, a white streak, and cleavages. The fractures on the surface are brittle. The density of vlodavetsite is 2.35 gm/cm3.

Global Distribution

Vlodavetsite is widely distributed in the following locations:

  • Tolbachik fissure volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
  • Italy, Sicily, La Fossa crater

Occurrence of Vlodavetsite and Useful Mineral Association

It is often associated with minerals such as bischofite, spinel, gypsum, sellaite, and hydrophilite. It is a product of low-temperature hydration of minerals on the fracture walls of volcanic fumaroles.

References

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