Tiptopite Mineral Data

Tiptopite Mineral Data +

General Tiptopite Information

Chemical Formula:

K2(Na,Ca)2Li3Be6(PO4)6(OH)2·(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 829.47 gm

Potassium 9.43 % K 11.36 % K₂O

Sodium 4.16 % Na 5.60 % Na₂O

Lithium 2.51 % Li 5.40 % Li₂O

Calcium 2.42 % Ca 3.38 % CaO

Beryllium 6.52 % Be 18.09 % BeO

Phosphorus 22.40 % P 51.34 % P₂O₅

Hydrogen 0.49 % H 4.34 % H₂O

Oxygen 52.08 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 99.52 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

K₂Na_1.5Ca_0.5Li₃Be₆(PO₄)₆(OH)₂·(H₂O)

Environment:

Pegmatite mineral.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1985

Locality:

Tip Top mine, Custer, Custer County, South Dakota, USA Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for the locality.

Synonym:

ICSD 202308

PDF 38-374

Tiptopite Image

Images:

Tiptopite Montgomeryite

Comments: Clear, acicular crystals of tiptopite with red montgomeryite.
Location: Tip Top mine, Custer, Custer County, South Dakota, USA. Scale: Not Given.
© Lou Perloff / Photo Atlas of Minerals

Images:

Tiptopite Englishite Montgomeryite

Comments: Red montgomeryite lath-like crystals to 1mm in 2mm rosettes associated with clear, acicular sprays of tiptopite to 0.75mm and white cottonball-like crystals of englishite to 0.2mm.
Location: Tip Top mine, Custer Co., South Dakota, USA. Scale: Picture size 5 mm.
© Tom Loomis / Dakota Matrix

Tiptopite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:0.40257

Cell Dimensions:

a = 11.655, c = 4.692, Z = 1; V = 551.97 Den(Calc)= 2.50

Crystal System:

Hexagonal - PyramidalH-M Symbol (6) Space Group: P 6₃

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.966(1), 2.525(0.9), 2.348(0.7),

Crystal Structure:

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Peacor D R , Rouse R C , Ahn J-H , American Mineralogist , 72 (1987) p.816-820, Crystal structure of tiptopite, a framework beryllophosphate isotypic with basic, cancrinite, Note: U(1,2) for OH5 has been altered to match symmetry constraints.

Physical Properties of Tiptopite

Cleavage:

None

Color:

Colorless.

Density:

2.65

Diaphaniety:

Transparent to Translucent

Fracture:

Uneven - Flat surfaces (not cleavage) fractured in an uneven pattern.

Habit:

Acicular - Occurs as needle-like crystals.

Habit:

Radial - Crystals radiate from a center without producing stellar forms (e.g. stibnite)

Hardness:

3.5 - Copper Penny

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Tiptopite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.003 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.064 (Fair) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.222,KPDmeas= 0.2094,KC= 0.2087

Optical Data:

Uniaxial (+), w=1.551, e=1.559, bire=0.0080.

Calculated Properties of Tiptopite

Electron Density:

r_electron=2.60 gm/cc
note: r_Tiptopite=2.65 gm/cc.

Fermion Index

Fermion Index = 0.06736
Boson Index = 0.93264

Photoelectric:

PE_Tiptopite= 2.47 barns/electron
U=PE_Tiptopite x r_electron= 6.44 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 133.63 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Estimated Radioactivity from Tiptopite - barely detectable

Tiptopite Classification

Dana Class:

42.6.11.1 (42)Hydrated Phosphates, etc., Containing Hydroxyl or Halogen

(42.6)where (AB)2 (XO4) Zq · x(H2O)

(42.6.11)Dana Group

42.6.11.1 Tiptopite K2(Na,Ca)2Li3Be6(PO4)6(OH)2·(H2O) P 6₃ 6

Strunz Class:

VII/D.02-10 VII - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates

VII/D - Water-bearing phosphates with unfamiliar anions, mostly cations of small size: Be, Li

VII/D.02 - Tiptopite series

VII/D.02-10 Tiptopite K2(Na,Ca)2Li3Be6(PO4)6(OH)2·(H2O) P 6₃ 6

Other Tiptopite 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 Tiptopite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - Google Images
6 - Google Scholar
7 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
9 - MinDAT
10 - MinMax(Deutsch)
11 - MinMax(English)
12 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Tiptopite

K2(Na,Ca)2Li3Be6(PO4)6(OH)2·(H2O)
Dana No: 42.6.11.1 Strunz No: VII/D.02-10
Locality:

Notes: