Afwillite Mineral Data

General Afwillite Information

Chemical Formula:

Ca3Si2O4(OH)6

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 342.45 gm

Calcium 35.11 % Ca 49.13 % CaO

Silicon 16.40 % Si 35.09 % SiO₂

Hydrogen 1.77 % H 15.78 % H₂O

Oxygen 46.72 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Ca₃(Si₂O₄)(OH)₆

Environment:

A product of contact metamorphism of limestones.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1925

Locality:

From the Dutoitspan diamond mine, Kimberley, and the Wessels mine, near Kuruman, Cape Province, South Africa. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

For Alpheus Fuller Williams (1874-1953), General Manager, DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Kimberley, South Africa.

Name Pronunciation:

Afwillite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 18

PDF 29-330

Afwillite Image

Images:

Afwillite

Comments: Crystallized afwillite prisms.
Location: Wessels Mine, Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Scale: Crystal size 1.5 mm.
© John Veevaert

Afwillite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =2.0822:1:2.393

Cell Dimensions:

a = 11.39, b = 5.47, c = 13.09, Z = 4; beta = 98.433° V = 806.73 Den(Calc)= 2.82

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - Sphenoidal H-M Symbol (2) Space Group: P 2₁

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.83(1), 3.18(0.9), 6.61(0.9),

Physical Properties of Afwillite

Cleavage:

{001} Perfect, {???} Distinct

Color:

Colorless, White.

Density:

2.62

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to Subtransparent to translucent

Habit:

Massive - Uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses.

Habit:

Prismatic - Crystals Shaped like Slender Prisms (e.g. tourmaline).

Hardness:

3 - Calcite

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Afwillite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.036 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.038 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2211,KPDmeas= 0.238,KC= 0.2298
Ncalc = 1.6 - 1.65

Optical Data:

Biaxial (+), a=1.6169, b=1.6204, g=1.6336, bire=0.0167

Calculated Properties of Afwillite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.66 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Afwillite =2.62 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.0083610278
Boson Index = 0.9916389722

Photoelectric:

PE_Afwillite= 4.90 barns/electron
U=PE_Afwillite x rElectron Density= 13.06 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Afwillite is Not Radioactive

Afwillite Classification

Dana Class:

52.04.07.01 (52)Nesosilicate Insular SiO4 Groups and O, OH, F, and H2O

(52.04)with cations in [6] and/or > [6] coordination

(52.04.07)Afwillite and related species

52.04.07.01 Afwillite Ca3Si2O4(OH)6 P 2₁ 2

52.04.07.02 Bultfonteinite Ca2SiO2(OH,F)4 P1 1

52.04.07.03 Hatrurite Ca3SiO5 R 3m 3m

52.04.07.04 Jasmundite Ca11(SiO4)4O2S I 42m 4 2m

Strunz Class:

09.AG.75 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.A - Nesosilicates

09.AG -Nesosilicates with additional anions; cations in > [6] ï¿½ [6] coordination

09.AG.75 Afwillite Ca3Si2O4(OH)6 P 2₁ 2

Other Afwillite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic2) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Afwillite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - WWW-MINCRYST

Search for Afwillite using:

[AOL] [Bing] [Dog Pile] [GeoScienceWorld] [HotBot] [Ixquick] [Lycos] [MAMMA] [Scirus] [Teoma] [WebCrawler] [Wikipedia] [YAHOO]

Visit our Advertisers for Afwillite :

Ask about Afwillite here :
Ask-A-Mineralogist from the Mineralogical Society of America
Mindat.org's Discussion Groups
Original Rockhounds Discussion Group
Rockhounds Discussion Group on Yahoo Groups
Mineral Discussion Forum from Fabre Minerals - also available in Español

Print or Cut-and-Paste your Afwillite Specimen Label here :

Afwillite

Ca3Si2O4(OH)6
Dana No: 52.04.07.01 Strunz No: 09.AG.75
Locality:

Notes:

Dakota Matrix
Excalibur Minerals
Exceptional Minerals
Hudson Insitute
John Betts Fine Minerals
Mc Dougall Minerals
Mineral News
Rock and Mineral Shows
Weinrich Minerals, Inc.