Heklaite, KNaSiF6, a new fumarolic mineral from Hekla volcano, Iceland

Anna Garavelli, Tonci Balic Zunic, Donatella Mitolo, Pasquale Acquafredda, Erik Leonardsen, Sveinn Peter Jakobsson

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Heklaite, with the ideal formula KNaSiF6, was found among fumarolic encrustations collected in 1992 on the Hekla volcano, Iceland. Heklaite forms a fine-grained mass of micron- to sub-micron-sized crystals intimately associated with malladrite, hieratite and ralstonite. The mineral is colourless, transparent, non-fluorescent, has a vitreous lustre and a white streak. The calculated density is 2.69 g cm-3. An SEM-EDS quantitative chemical analysis shows the following range of concentrations (wt.%): Na 11.61-12.74 (average 11.98), K 17.02-18.97 (average 18.29), Si 13.48-14.17 (average 13.91), F 54.88-56.19 (average 55.66). The empirical chemical formula, calculated on the basis of 9 a.p.f.u., is Na 1.07K0.96Si1.01F5.97. X-ray powder diffraction indicates that heklaite is orthorhombic, space group Pnma, with the following unit-cell parameters: a = 9.3387(7) Å, b = 5.5032(4) Å, c = 9.7957(8) Å, V = 503.43(7) Å3, Z = 4. The eight strongest reflections in the powder diffraction pattern [d in Å (I/I 0) (hkl)] are: 4.33 (53) (102); 4.26 (56) (111); 3.40 (49) (112); 3.37 (47) (202); 3.34 (100) (211); 2.251 (27) (303); 2.050 (52) (123); 2.016 (29) (321). On the basis of chemical analyses and X-ray data, heklaite corresponds to the synthetic compound KNaSiF6. The name is for the type locality, the Hekla volcano, Iceland.

Original languageEnglish
JournalMineralogical Magazine
Volume74
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)147-157
Number of pages11
ISSN0026-461X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2010

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