Jakobssonite, CaAlF5, a new mineral from fumaroles at the Eldfell and Hekla volcanoes, Iceland

Tonci Balic Zunic, A. Garavelli, D. Mitolo, P. Acquafredda, E. Leonardsen

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The new mineral jakobssonite, ideally CaAlF5, was first found in crusts collected in 1988 from a fumarole on the Eldfell volcano, Heimaey Island, Iceland. It was subsequently found in similar crusts collected in 1991 from a fumarole on the Hekla volcano, Iceland. It is associated with leonardsenite (IMA2011-059), ralstonite, heklaite, anhydrite, gypsum, jarosite, hematite, opal and several fluoride minerals that have not been fully characterized. Jakobssonite occurs as soft white fragile crusts of acicular crystals <50 μm long. Its calculated density is 2.89 g cm-3. Chemical analyses by energy-dispersive spectrometry on a scanning electron microscope produced a mean elemental composition as follows: Ca, 18.99; Al, 18.55; Mg, 1.33; Na, 0.33; F, 50.20; O, 10.39; total 99.79 wt.%. The empirical chemical formula, calculated on the basis of 7 atoms per formula unit with all of the oxygen as OH, is (Ca0.73Mg0.09Na 0.02)S 0.84Al1.06F4.09(OH) 1.01. Jakobssonite is monoclinic, space group C2/c, with a = 8.601(1), b = 6.2903(6), c = 7.2190(7) Å, β = 114.61(1)o, V = 355.09(8) Å3and Z = 4. The crystal structure contains chains of [AlF6] octahedra which run parallel to the c axis. These chains are interconnected by chains of [CaF7] pentagonal bipyramids. Jakobssonite is isostructural with several other CaM III F 5 compounds. The eight strongest lines in the powder diffraction diagram [d in Å (I) (hkl)] are as follows: 4.91 (18) (110), 3.92 (76) (200), 3.15 (68) (020), 3.13 (100) (112), 2.27 (22) (222), 1.957 (21) (400), 1.814 (20) (132), 1.805 (22) (204). The chemical and crystal-structure analyses of jakobssonite are similar to synthetic CaAlF5 with minor substitutions of light elements (e.g. Na) or vacancies for Ca, and OH for F.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalMineralogical Magazine
    Volume76
    Issue number3
    Pages (from-to)751–760
    Number of pages10
    ISSN0026-461X
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

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