Xitieshanite is a hydrous
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...
–
chloride
The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride sa ...
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...
with chemical formula: Fe
3+(SO
4)Cl·6(H
2O).
It was discovered in 1983 and named for the discovery location of Xitieshan
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
/
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
ore deposit
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April ...
in the
Qinghai Province
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...
,
China. It was approved by the
IMA in the year of its discovery.
The mineral has also been reported in 2005 from
acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines.
Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weathering ...
from a
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
in Green Valley,
Vigo County, Indiana
Vigo County ( ) is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994 . Its county seat is Terre Haute.
Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolita ...
.
[Melchiorre, Erik, et al., ''A new occurrence of xitieshanite e3+(SO4)Cl·6H2Ocrystals in acid-mine seepways, Green Valley, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A.,'' American Mineralogist, v. 90 no. 10 p. 1518-1521, 2005]
Properties
Xitieshanite mainly consists of oxygen (56.14%) and iron (17.82%), but otherwise contains chlorine (11.31%), sulphur (10.23%) and hydrogen (4.50%). This mineral grown in lead-zinc mines, in the oxidation zone of it. Xitieshanite is a pleochroic mineral, which is an optical phenomenon, meaning the mineral appears as if it's changing colors depending on the axis it is being inspected at. On the X axis it appears as it's colorless, while it looks pale yellow if viewed on the Y axis, and light greenish yellow on the Z axis. It doesn't show any radioactive properties whatsoever.
References
Iron(III) minerals
Sulfate minerals
Halide minerals
Monoclinic minerals
Minerals in space group 14
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