Calciopharmacoalumite, ideally Ca <sub>0.5</sub> Al <sub>4</sub> (AsO <sub>4</sub> ) <sub>3</sub> (ОН) <sub>4</sub> ∙5H <sub>2</sub> O, the first Ca-dominant pharmacosiderite-supergroup mineral from the Obdilya deposit, Kyrgyzstan
Calciopharmacoalumite, ideally Ca 0.5 Al 4 (AsO 4 ) 3 () 4 5H 2 O, was found at the Obdilya gold ore deposit located within the Chauvai ore field (Kyrgyzstan).Calciopharmacoalumite occurs as clusters of light-brown "iron-bearing" cubic crystals and white iron-free polycrystalline masses overgrown with prismatic vladimirite crystals.Calciopharmacoalumite is associated also with mansfieldite, talmessite, tapiaite and various amorphous K-Ca-Fe-Al arsenates.Calciopharmacoalumite is cubic P-43m, a = 7.758(5) , V = 801.9(7) 3 , R 1 = 0.043.The eight strongest lines of the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [I-d()-hkl]: 100-7.76-100; 60-4.47-111;33-3.880-200;30-3.166-211;51-2.746-220;16-2.457-310;19-2.339-311.The chemical composition determined by electron-microprobe analysis is (wt.%): As 2 O 5 48.05,Al 2 O 3 20.89;Fe 2 O 3 7.42; CaO 5.09; MgO 2.33; SrO 0.33; K 2 O 1.24; H 2 O 17.97, total 103.32.The empirical formula calculated on the basis of As = 3 atoms per formula unit is (Ca 0.65 K 0.19 Sr 0.02 ) 1.53+ 0.86 (Al 2.94 Fe 3+ 0.66 Mg 0.40 ) 11.60+ 4.00 (AsO 4 ) 3 9-((OH) 3.87 O 0.13 ) 4.13- 4.00 5.19(H 2 O).Calciopharmacoalumite is the first Ca-dominant member of the pharmacosiderite supergroup.The origin of the new mineral is assumed to be lowtemperature hydrothermal or hypergenic.
Authors
- Vladimir N. Bocharov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8233-9635)
- Elena S. Zhitova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1251-2340)
- Vladimir Yu. Karpenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5517-1729)
- Leonid A. Pautov
- Nikita Zolotov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4225-8723)
- Atali A. Agakhanov
- Oleg I. Siidra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1908-3152)
Institutions
- St Petersburg University (RU)
- Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (RU)
- Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology (RU)
- Kola Science Centre (RU)
- Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (RU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Mineralogical Magazine
- Published
- 2025-11-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1180/mgm.2025.10181
- Primary Topic
- Crystal Structures and Properties
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Russian Science Foundation