Polyhalite Mineral Data

General Polyhalite Information

Chemical Formula:

K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4•2(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 602.94 gm

Potassium 12.97 % K 15.62 % K₂O

Calcium 13.29 % Ca 18.60 % CaO

Magnesium 4.03 % Mg 6.68 % MgO

Hydrogen 0.67 % H 5.98 % H₂O

Sulfur 21.27 % S 53.12 % SO₃

Oxygen 47.76 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

K₂Ca₂Mg(SO₄)₄•2(H₂O)

Environment:

Sedimentary marine evaporite deposits.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1818

Locality:

Potash beds near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

From the Greek, polys, meaning "much" and hals, meaning "salt." in allusion to the many salt components in the formulae..

Name Pronunciation:

Polyhalite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 6303

PDF 21-982

Polyhalite Image

Images:

Polyhalite

Comments: White crystals of polyhalite in matrix.
Location: Ronneburg U deposit, Gera district, Thuringia, Germany. Scale: Picture size 1.5 mm.
© Thomas Witzke / Abraxas-Verlag

Polyhalite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.7158:1:0.4654

Cell Dimensions:

a = 11.69, b = 16.33, c = 7.6, Z = 4; alpha = 91.6°, beta = 90°, gamma = 91.9° V = 1,449.46 Den(Calc)= 2.76

Crystal System:

Triclinic Space Group: P 1,P1

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.9(1), 3.18(0.7), 2.85(0.16),

Forms:

Mouse
Dbl Clk - Start-Stop Rotation
RMB - Cycle Display Modes
Drag1 - Manipulate Crystal
Drag2 - Resize
Keyboard
S - Stereo
I - Indicies
<space> - Start-Stop Rotation
F - Fit to Screen
M - Menu
Help on Above

Forms: ( 0 1 0) ( 1 3 1) ( 1 1 0) ( 1 0 0) ( 0 0 1)

Warning: this java applet does not work in some browsers because of security restrictions.

Physical Properties of Polyhalite

Cleavage:

{101} Perfect

Color:

Colorless, Gray, Gray white, White, Pink.

Density:

2.77 - 2.78, Average = 2.77

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to Translucent

Fracture:

Brittle - Conchoidal - Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments.

Habit:

Massive - Fibrous - Distinctly fibrous fine-grained forms.

Habit:

Massive - Lamellar - Distinctly foliated fine-grained forms.

Hardness:

2.5-3.5 - Finger Nail-Copper Penny

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Polyhalite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.019 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.024 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2022,KPDmeas= 0.2011,KC= 0.1974
Ncalc = 1.54 - 1.55

Optical Data:

Biaxial (-), a=1.546-1.548, b=1.558-1.562, g=1.567, bire=0.0190-0.0210, 2V(Calc)=60-80, 2V(Meas)=60-62.

Pleochroism (x):

colorless.

Pleochroism (y):

colorless.

Pleochroism (z):

colorless.

Calculated Properties of Polyhalite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.78 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Polyhalite =2.78 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.0060518431
Boson Index = 0.9939481569

Photoelectric:

PE_Polyhalite= 4.30 barns/electron
U=PE_Polyhalite x r_electron= 11.94 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 187.47 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Concentration of Polyhalite per GRapi unit = 0.53 (%)

Estimated Radioactivity from Polyhalite - barely detectable

Polyhalite Classification

Dana Class:

29.04.05.01 (29)Hydrated Acid and Sulfates

(29.04)where (A+)2 Bn (XO4)p ï¿½ x(H2O)

(29.04.05)Dana Group

29.04.05.01 Polyhalite K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4•2(H2O) P 1,P1 Tri

29.04.05.02 Leightonite K2Ca2Cu(SO4)4•2(H2O) C 2/c 2/m

Strunz Class:

07.CC.65 07 - SULFATES (SELENATES, TELLURATES)

07.C - Sulfates (selenates, etc.) without Additional Anions, with H2O

07.CC -With medium-sized and large cations

07.CC.65 Polyhalite K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4•2(H2O) P 1,P1 Tri

Other Polyhalite Information

References:

NAME( Duda&Rejl90) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Ford32)

See Also:

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

Search for Polyhalite using:

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

Visit our Advertisers for Polyhalite :

Ask about Polyhalite 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 Polyhalite Specimen Label here :

Polyhalite

K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4•2(H2O)
Dana No: 29.04.05.01 Strunz No: 07.CC.65
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.