Spiroffite Mineral Data

General Spiroffite Information

Chemical Formula:

(Mn,Zn)2Te3O8

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 625.90 gm

Manganese 13.17 % Mn 17.00 % MnO

Zinc 5.22 % Zn 6.50 % ZnO

Tellurium 61.16 % Te 76.50 % TeO₂

Oxygen 20.45 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Mn²⁺_1.5Zn_0.5Te₃O₈

Environment:

Secondary mineral found in oxidized, telluride-bearing rocks.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1962

Locality:

Moctezuma mine ("La Bambolla"), Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Kiril Spiroff (1901-1981), Bulgarian-American economic geologist, Michigan College of Mining and Technology.

Name Pronunciation:

Spiroffite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 82490

PDF 24-470

Spiroffite Image

Images:

Spiroffite

Comments: Milky yellow crystalline aggregate of Spiroffite on matrix.
Location: Moctezuma mine, Sonora, Mexico. Scale: Not Given.
© Lou Perloff / Photo Atlas of Minerals

Spiroffite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =2.4163:1:2.2527

Cell Dimensions:

a = 13, b = 5.38, c = 12.12, Z = 4; beta = 98° V = 839.42 Den(Calc)= 4.95

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - Prismatic H-M Symbol (2/m) Space Group: C 2/c

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 3(1), 4.98(1), 4.06(0.8),

Physical Properties of Spiroffite

Cleavage:

{???} Distinct, {???} Distinct

Color:

Red, Purple.

Density:

5.01

Fracture:

Conchoidal - Fractures developed in brittle materials characterized by smoothly curving surfaces, (e.g. quartz).

Habit:

Comb - Drusy layers deposited on top of each other to produce a toothed structure (e.g. amethyst)

Habit:

Massive - Uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses.

Hardness:

3.5 - Copper Penny

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Adamantine

Streak:

brown red

Optical Properties of Spiroffite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.003 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.009 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1993,KPDmeas= 0.1969,KC= 0.1975
Ncalc = 1.98 - 1.99

Optical Data:

Biaxial (+), a=1.85, b=1.91, g=2.2, bire=0.3500, 2V(Calc)=56, 2V(Meas)=55.

Calculated Properties of Spiroffite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=4.36 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Spiroffite =5.01 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.05
Boson Index = 0.95

Photoelectric:

PE_Spiroffite= 222.10 barns/electron
U=PE_Spiroffite x rElectron Density= 968.92 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

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

Spiroffite Classification

Dana Class:

34.05.01.01 (34)Selenites - Tellurites - Sulfites

(34.05)Dana Type

(34.05.01)Spiroffite Series

34.05.01.01 Spiroffite (Mn,Zn)2Te3O8 C 2/c 2/m

34.05.01.02 Zincospiroffite! Zn2Te3O8 C 2/c 2/m

Strunz Class:

04.JK.10 04 - OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodate

04.J - Arsenites, Antimonites, Bismuthites, Sulfites,

04.JK -Tellurites without additional anions, without H2O

04.JK.10 Spiroffite (Mn,Zn)2Te3O8 C 2/c 2/m

04.JK.10 Zincospiroffite! Zn2Te3O8 C 2/c 2/m

Other Spiroffite Information

References:

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

See Also:

Links to other databases for Spiroffite :
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 Spiroffite using:

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

Visit our Advertisers for Spiroffite :

Ask about Spiroffite 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 Spiroffite Specimen Label here :

Spiroffite

(Mn,Zn)2Te3O8
Dana No: 34.05.01.01 Strunz No: 04.JK.10
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.