Sep 10 2013
Beudantite is a secondary mineral that was first described in 1826 for an occurrence in the Louise Mine, Wied Iron Spar District, Westerwald, Rhineland-Palantinate, Germany. It was named after French mineralogist Francois Sulpice Beudant.
Properties of Beudantite
The following are the key properties of Beudantite:
- Cell Data
- Space Group: R3m
- a = 7.315–7.339
- c = 17.034–17.036
- Z = 3.
- Crystal Data
- Hexagonal, pseudocubic
- Point Group: 3 2/m. As tabular crystals, pseudocubes, or pseudo-octahedra, to 5 mm; also microcrystalline massive
- X-ray Powder Pattern: 3.078 (100), 2.865 (80), 2.290 (70), 5.725 (50), 3.108 (50), 5.089 (45), 1.979 (35).
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
| Fe2O3 |
33.48 |
33.65 |
| PbO |
31.22 |
31.36 |
| As2O5 |
16.02 |
16.15 |
| SO3 |
11.15 |
11.25 |
| H2O |
7.8 |
7.59 |
| CuO |
0.22 |
- |
| ZnO |
0.11 |
- |
| Total |
100 |
100 |
- Optical Properties
- Optical Class: Uniaxial (–), commonly anomalously biaxial
- Pleochroism: O = yellow to red-brown; E = colorless to yellow
- ω = 1.957
- ε = 1.943.
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density) = 3.86 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of Beudantite = 4.20 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEBeudantite = 501.54 barns/electron
U = PEBeudantite x ρ Electron density = 1935.52 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.06
Boson index = 0.94 |
| Radioactivity |
Beudantite is not radioactive.
|
How to Identify Beudantite
Beudantite is an orange, dark green, yellow, green or brown mineral having transparent to translucent appearance, non-fluorescent characteristic, adamantine luster and greenish yellow streak.
This mineral exhibits brittle fractures as displayed by glasses and most of the non-metallic minerals. It can be formed as rhombohedral crystals or platy structures. The average density of the mineral is 4.19 g/cm3, and its hardness is 4.
Global Distribution
Beudantite is distributed in the following places:
- Louise mine, Horhausen, and the Schone Aussicht mine, near Dernbach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
- Reichenbach, near Bensheim, Hesse; from the Clara mine, near Oberwolfach, and elsewhere in the Black Forest, Germany
- Cap Garonne mine, near le Pradet, Var, and Blond, near Vauly, Haute-Vienne, France
- Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, and in Cornwall, England
- Laurium, pure masses in the Kamariza mine, and in the slags, Greece
- Tsumeb, Namibia
- Ojuela mine, Mapim´i, Durango, and at La Mur, Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico
- Mohawk mine, Clark Mountains, San Bernardino Co., California
- Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona, USA
- Belvedere Au–Pb mine, near Mt. McGrath, Western Australia.
Occurrence of Beudantite and Useful Mineral Association
Beudantite occurs as a secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of polymetallic deposits. It is closely associated with azurite, cerussite, anglesite, duftite, bayldonite, olivenite, pharmacosiderite, arseniosiderite, dussertite, mimetite, scorodite and carminite.
References