Walfordite Mineral Data

General Walfordite Information

Chemical Formula:

(Fe+++,Te++++++)Te++++3O8

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 591.76 gm

Iron 6.13 % Fe 7.89 % FeO

Tellurium 72.24 % Te 90.35 % TeO₂

Oxygen 21.63 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 98.24 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Fe²⁺_0.65Te_0.35Te₃O₈

Environment:

Found in brecciated silicified rhyolitic and dacitic pyroclastic rocks. The Fe+++ dominant analog of winstanleyite.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1996 (Dana # Added)

Locality:

Wendy open pit of the Tambo mine, El Indio – Tambo mining property, 160 km east of La Serena, Cquimbo Province, northern Chile. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named after Phillip Walford (b. 1945), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Vice-President and Chief Geologist of LAC Minerals, Ltd., at the time that mining company held the mining rights to the discovery locality.

Synonym:

IMA1996-003

Walfordite Image

Images:

Walfordite

Comments: Crystal of orange walfordite on a matrix of alunite, (CanMin, v37:1261).
Location: Wendy open pit, Tambo mine, El Indio - Tambo mining property, Coquimbo Province, Chile. Scale: Crystal Size 0.2 mm.
© Canadian Mineralogist

Walfordite Crystallography

Cell Dimensions:

a = 11.011, Z = 4; V = 1,335.00 Den(Calc)= 2.94

Crystal System:

IsometricSpace Group: I2, I a3

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 3.175(1), 1.658(0.45), 1.944(0.44),

Forms:

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Crystal Structure:

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Back M E , Grice J D , Gault R A , Criddle A J , Mandarino J A , The Canadian Mineralogist , 37 (1999) p.1261-1268, Walforite, a new tellurite species from the Wendy Open Pit, El Indio-Tambo, Mining Property, Chile, Locality: Wendy Open Pit, El Indio-Tambo Mining Property, Chile

Physical Properties of Walfordite

Cleavage:

None

Color:

Orange.

Diaphaneity:

Translucent

Fracture:

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

Habit:

Crystalline - Fine - Occurs as well-formed fine sized crystals.

Habit:

Microscopic Crystals - Crystals visible only with microscopes.

Luster:

Adamantine

Streak:

orange yellow

Optical Properties of Walfordite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI calc= -1.026 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.398,KC= 0.1964
Ncalc = 1.58

Optical Data:

Isotropic, n=2.17.

Calculated Properties of Walfordite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.53 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Walfordite =2.94 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.05
Boson Index = 0.95

Photoelectric:

PE_Walfordite= 259.14 barns/electron
U=PE_Walfordite x rElectron Density= 656.88 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

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

Walfordite Classification

Dana Class:

34.05.02.02 (34)Selenites - Tellurites - Sulfites

(34.05)Dana Type

(34.05.02)Dana Group

34.05.02.01 Winstanleyite TiTe3O8 I 2₁/a3 2/m 3

34.05.02.02 Walfordite! (Fe,Te)Te3O8 I2, I a3 Cubic

Strunz Class:

04.JK.05 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.05 Walfordite! (Fe,Te)Te3O8 I2, I a3 Cubic

04.JK.05 Winstanleyite TiTe3O8 I 2₁/a3 2/m 3

Other Walfordite Information

References:

NAME( MinRec, Vol 31, No 4) PHYS. PROP.(MinRec, Vol 31, No 4) OPTIC PROP.(MinRec, Vol 31, No 4)

See Also:

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

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Ask about Walfordite here :
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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Walfordite Specimen Label here :

Walfordite

(Fe+++,Te++++++)Te++++3O8
Dana No: 34.05.02.02 Strunz No: 04.JK.05
Locality:

Notes: