Quetzalcoatlite Mineral Data

General Quetzalcoatlite Information

Chemical Formula:

Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 1,610.23 gm

Zinc 32.49 % Zn 40.44 % ZnO

Copper 15.79 % Cu 17.77 % Cu₂O

Tellurium 23.77 % Te 29.73 % TeO₂

Hydrogen 1.13 % H 10.07 % H₂O

Oxygen 26.83 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 98.01 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Zn₈Cu₄(TeO₃)₃(OH)₁₈

Environment:

Secondary mineral from oxidized telluride-bearing ore bodies

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1973

Locality:

Bambollita mine (La Oriental), Sierra La Huerta, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Quetzalcoatl, a Toltec god of the sea, in allusion of the sea blue-green color of the mineral.

Name Pronunciation:

Quetzalcoatlite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 89821

PDF 26-485

Quetzalcoatlite Image

Images:

Quetzalcoatlite

Comments: Green encrustation of quetzalcoatlite.
Location: Moctezuma, Mun. de Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico. Scale: Picture size 3.5 mm.
© Thomas Witzke / Abraxas-Verlag

Quetzalcoatlite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:0.48965

Cell Dimensions:

a = 10.097, c = 4.944, Z = 1; V = 436.51 Den(Calc)= 6.13

Crystal System:

Hexagonal - Trapezohedral H-M Symbol (6 2 2) Space Group: C6322

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 8.752(1), 2.748(0.7), 3.531(0.4),

Physical Properties of Quetzalcoatlite

Cleavage:

{1010} Distinct

Color:

Blue.

Density:

6.05

Fracture:

Brittle - Generally displayed by glasses and most non-metallic minerals.

Hardness:

3 - Calcite

Optical Properties of Quetzalcoatlite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.361 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.369 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1258,KPDmeas= 0.1274,KC= 0.1995
Ncalc = 2.21 - 2.22

Optical Data:

Uniaxial (-), e=1.74, w=1.802, bire=0.0620.

Calculated Properties of Quetzalcoatlite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=5.61 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Quetzalcoatlite =6.05 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.03
Boson Index = 0.97

Photoelectric:

PE_{Quetzalcoatlite}= 102.68 barns/electron
U=PE_{Quetzalcoatlite} x rElectron Density= 575.63 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

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

Quetzalcoatlite Classification

Dana Class:

34.06.03.01 (34)Selenites - Tellurites - Sulfites

(34.06)Dana Type

(34.06.03)Dana Group

34.06.03.01 Quetzalcoatlite Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18 C6322 6 2 2

Strunz Class:

04.FE.45 04 - OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodate

04.F - Hydroxides (without V or U)

04.FE -Hydroxides with OH, without H2O; sheets of edge-sharing octahedra

04.FE.45 Quetzalcoatlite Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18 C6322 6 2 2

Other Quetzalcoatlite Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Quetzalcoatlite :
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 Quetzalcoatlite using:

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

Visit our Advertisers for Quetzalcoatlite :

Ask about Quetzalcoatlite 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 Quetzalcoatlite Specimen Label here :

Quetzalcoatlite

Zn8Cu4(TeO3)3(OH)18
Dana No: 34.06.03.01 Strunz No: 04.FE.45
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.