Wesselsite Mineral Data

General Wesselsite Information

Chemical Formula:

SrCu++Si4O10

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 423.50 gm

Strontium 20.69 % Sr 24.47 % SrO

Copper 15.00 % Cu 18.78 % CuO

Silicon 26.53 % Si 56.75 % SiO₂

Oxygen 37.78 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

SrCuSi₄O₁₀

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1994 (Dana # Added)

Locality:

Wessels mine, Kalahari Manganese field, Kuruman Hill, Cape Province, South Africa. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named after the locality.

Name Pronunciation:

Wesselsite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

IMA1994-055

Wesselsite Image

Images:

Wesselsite

Comments: Fragment of blue wesselsite.
Location: Wessels mine, Kalahari Mn Fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Scale: Sample Size 0.5 mm.
© Tom Loomis / Dakota Matrix

Wesselsite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:c = 1:2.1143

Cell Dimensions:

a = 7.366, c = 15.574, Z = 4; V = 845.01 Den(Calc)= 3.33

Crystal System:

Tetragonal - Ditetragonal DipyramidalH-M Symbol (4/m 2/m 2/m) Space Group: P 4/ncc

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 3.33(1), 3.12(0.55), 3.03(0.5),

Crystal Structure:

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Chakoumakos B C , Fernandez-Baca J A , Boatner L A , Journal of Solid State Chemistry , 103 (1993) p.105-113, Refinement of the structures of the layer silicates MCuSi4O10 (M=Ca,Sr,Ba), by Rietveld analysis of neutron powder diffraction data, Note: gillespite structure, Locality: synthetic

Physical Properties of Wesselsite

Cleavage:

{001} Perfect

Color:

Blue.

Density:

3.2

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Hardness:

4-5 - Fluorite-Apatite

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

blue white

Optical Properties of Wesselsite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.028 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.012 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1832,KPDmeas= 0.1906,KC= 0.1854
Ncalc = 1.59 - 1.62

Optical Data:

Uniaxial (-), e=1.59, w=1.63, bire=0.0400.

Calculated Properties of Wesselsite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=3.19 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Wesselsite =3.33 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.02
Boson Index = 0.98

Photoelectric:

PE_Wesselsite= 30.44 barns/electron
U=PE_Wesselsite x rElectron Density= 97.18 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

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

Wesselsite Classification

Dana Class:

71.02.03.04 (71)Phyllosilicate Sheets of Six-Membered Rings

(71.02)with 2:1 Layers

(71.02.03)Cuprorivaite group

71.02.03.01 Cuprorivaite CaCuSi4O10 P 4/nnc 4/m 2/m 2/m

71.02.03.02 Gillespite BaFeSi4O10 P 4/ncc 4/m 2/m 2/m

71.02.03.03 Effenbergerite BaCuSi4O10 P 4/nnc 4/m 2/m 2/m

71.02.03.04 Wesselsite! SrCuSi4O10 P 4/ncc 4/m 2/m 2/m

Strunz Class:

09.EA.05 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.E - Phyllosilicates

09.EA -Single nets of tetrahedra with 4-, 5-, (6-), and 8-membered rings

09.EA.05 Cuprorivaite CaCuSi4O10 P 4/nnc 4/m 2/m 2/m

09.EA.05 Effenbergerite BaCuSi4O10 P 4/nnc 4/m 2/m 2/m

09.EA.05 Gillespite BaFeSi4O10 P 4/ncc 4/m 2/m 2/m

09.EA.05 Wesselsite! SrCuSi4O10 P 4/ncc 4/m 2/m 2/m

Other Wesselsite Information

References:

PHYS. PROP.(Min.Mag.,Vol.60,p795,1996) OPTIC PROP.(Min.Mag.,Vol.60,p795,1996)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Wesselsite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - GeoScienceWorld
4 - Google Images
5 - Google Scholar
6 - MinDAT
7 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
8 - Online Mineral Museum
9 - QUT Mineral Atlas
10 - Ruff.Info
11 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Wesselsite Specimen Label here :

Wesselsite

SrCu++Si4O10
Dana No: 71.02.03.04 Strunz No: 09.EA.05
Locality:

Notes: