May 13 2014
Diaboleite is a blue-colored mineral. It was first discovered in 1923 from the Higher Pitts, Mendip Hills, Somersetshire, England. It was named after the Greek word dia, which means difference, and the mineral boleite.
Properties of Diaboleite
The following are the key properties of Diaboleite:
- Cell Data
- Space Group: P4mm
- a = 5.880(1)
- c = 5.500(2)
- Z = 1
- Crystal Data
- Tetragonal
- Point Group: 4mm
- Crystals tabular on {001}, exhibiting square or octagonal outline with vicinal forms, rarely showing pyramidal hemihedralism, to 2cm; in subparallel aggregates; massive.
- X-ray Powder Pattern: 5.51 (10),2.283 (10),3.305 (9),2.580 (9),1.755 (9),1.537 (9), 2.929 (8)
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
Content 3 |
| PbO |
72.09 |
72.01 |
72.36 |
| CuO |
12.90 |
12.68 |
12.90 |
| CI |
10.89 |
11.42 |
11.49 |
| H20 |
6.14 |
6.03 |
5.84 |
| -0 = Cl2 |
2.46 |
2.57 |
2.59 |
| insol. |
- |
0.19 |
- |
| Total |
99.56 |
99.76 |
100 |
- Optical Properties
- Optical Class: Uniaxial (-)
- Absorption: 0 > E, in thick fragments
- ω = 1.98(1)
- ε = 1.85(1)
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density) = 4.61 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of Diaboleite = 5.41 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEDiaboleite = 1215.36 barns/electron
U = PEDiaboleite x ρElectron density = 5606.43 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.14
Boson index = 0.86 |
Radioactivity
|
Diaboleite is not radioactive
|
How to Identify Diaboleite
Diaboleite is a dark blue or bright sky-blue mineral, having perfect cleavage, adamantine luster, and blue streak. It has conchoidal fractures and a transparent to translucent appearance. It can be formed as crust-like aggregates or euhedral/granular crystals.
The average density of diaboleite is 5.94 g/cm3, and its hardness is 2.5.
Global Distribution
Diaboleite is distributed in the following places:
- Higher Pitts Farm, Mendip Hills, England
- Merehead quarry, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset; at Padstow Consols, Padstow, Cornwall, UK
- Christian-Levin mine, near Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Richelsdorf, Hesse, Germany
- Baratti Beach, Tuscany, Italy
- Laurium, Greece
- Mammoth-St. Anthony mine, Tiger, Pinal Co. USA
- Rowley mine, Maricopa Co. Arizona
- Tchah Khuni and other mines in the Anarak district, Iran
- Seh-Changi mine, near Neyband, Khorassan
- Abdol Abad, Tabas
- Moolyella, and at the Anticline prospect, 11km west-southwest of Ashburton Downs homestead, Capricorn Range, Western Australia
- Santa Ana mine, Caracoles, Sierra Gorda district, Chile
- Kopet- Dag Range, Cheleken Peninsula, Russia
Occurrence of Diaboleite and Useful Mineral Association
Diaboleite occurs in oxidized manganese ores and slag exposed to seawater. Also, as a secondary mineral in deeply oxidized Pb-Cu ores.
The mineral is closely associated with cerussite, paratacamite, atacamite, caledonite, phosgenite, leadhillite, hydrocerussite, wherryite, boleite, mendipite, and chloroxiphite.
References