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Alumoåkermanite, (Ca,Na)₂(Al,Mg,Fe²⁺)(Si₂O₇), a new mineral from the active carbonatite-nephelinite-phonolite volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, northern Tanzania

  • Wiedenmann, Daniel Department of Geoscience, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - EMPA, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Testing and Research, Hydrogen and Energy, Duebendorf, Switzerland
  • Zaitsev, A. N. Department of Mineralogy, Faculty of Geology, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
  • Britvin, S. N. Department of Crystallography, Faculty of Geology, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
  • Krivovichev, S. V. Department of Crystallography, Faculty of Geology, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
  • Keller, J. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Mineralogie-Geochemie, Universität Freiburg, Germany
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    2009
Published in:
  • Mineralogical Magazine. - 2009, vol. 73, no. 3, p. 373-384
Alumoåkermanite
Åkermanite
melilite
new mineral
volcanic rock
chemical composition
crystal structure
Oldoinyo lengai
Tanzania
English Alumoåkermanite, (CaNa)₂(Al,Mg,Fe²⁺)(Si₂O₇), is a new mineral member of the melilite group from the active carbonatite-nephelinite-phonolite volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania. The mineral occurs as tabular phenocrysts and microphenocrysts in melilite-nephelinitic ashes and lapilli-tuffs. Alumoåkermanite is light brown in colour; it is transparent, with a vitreous lustre and the streak is white. Cleavages or partings are not observed. The mineral is brittle with an uneven fracture. The measured density is 2.96(2) g/cm³. The Mohs hardness is ∼4.5-6. Alumoåkermanite is uniaxial (-) with ω = 1.635(1) and ε = 1.624-1.626(1). In a 30 μm thin section (+N), the mineral has a yellow to orange interference colour, straight extinction and positive elongation, and is nonpleochroic. The average chemical formula of the mineral derived from electron microprobe analyses is: (Ca1.48Na0.50Sr0.02K0.01)Σ2.01(Al0.44Mg0.30Fe²⁺0.17Fe³⁺0.07Mn0.01)Σ0.99(Si1.99Al0.01O₇). Alumoåkermanite is tetragonal, space group P42₁m with a = 7.7661(4) Å, c = 5.0297(4) Å, V = 303.4(1) ų and Z = 2. The five strongest powder-diffraction lines [d in Å, (I/Io), hkl] are: 3.712, (13), (111); 3.075, (25), (201); 2.859, (100), (211); 2.456, (32), (311); 1.757, (19), (312). Single-crystal structure refinement (R₁ = 0.018) revealed structure topology typical of the melilite-group minerals, i.e. tetrahedral [(Al,Mg)(Si₂O₇)] sheets interleaved with layers of (CaNa) cations. The name reflects the chemical composition of the mineral.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Géosciences
Language
  • English
Classification
Mineralogy
License
License undefined
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Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/301248
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