putnisite
Sign in to savethumb|Putnisite (animation) Putnisite is a mineral composed of strontium, calcium, chromium, sulfur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. It was discovered on the Polar Bear Peninsula in Shire of Dundas, Western Australia in 2007 during mining activity. Following identification and recognition by the IMA in 2012 the mineral was named after mineralogists Andrew and Christine Putnis. The formal description was published in 2014.
Key facts
- Mineral.name
- Putnisite
- Mineral.image
- Putnisite.jpg
- Mineral.caption
- Putnisite, from Polar Bear Peninsula, Western Australia, Australia
- Mineral.formula
- SrCa4Cr83+(CO3)8(SO4)(OH)16·25 H2O
- Mineral.IMAsymbol
- Pni
- Mineral.system
- Orthorhombic
- Mineral.class
- Dipyramidal (mmm) H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m)
- Mineral.symmetry
- Pnma
- Mineral.unit cell
- a = 15.351 Å, b = 20.421 Å, c = 18.270 Å; Z = 4
- Mineral.color
- Purple
- Mineral.habit
- Pseudocubic crystals
- Mineral.cleavage
- [100], [010] and [001] good
- Mineral.fracture
- Brittle – uneven
- Mineral.mohs
- 1.5–2
- Mineral.luster
- Vitreous
- Mineral.refractive
- nα = 1.552, nβ = 1.583 and nγ = 1.599
- Mineral.opticalprop
- Biaxial (−)
- Mineral.pleochroism
- Distinct: X pale bluish grey, Y pale purple, Z pale purple
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
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thumb|Putnisite (animation) Putnisite is a mineral composed of strontium, calcium, chromium, sulfur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. It was discovered on the Polar Bear Peninsula in Shire of Dundas, Western Australia in 2007 during mining activity. Following identification and recognition by the IMA in 2012 the mineral was named after mineralogists Andrew and Christine Putnis. The formal description was published in 2014.
Putnisite has unique chemical and structural properties, and does not appear to be related to any of the existing mineralogical families. Crystals are translucent purple, but show distinct pleochroism (from pale purple to pale bluish grey, depending on the angle of observation) and leave pink streaks when rubbed on a flat surface.