Ammineite is the first recognized mineral containing ammine groups. Its formula is uCl₂(NH₃)₂ The mineral is chemically pure. It was found in a

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

deposit in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. At the same site other ammine-containing minerals were later found:Mindat, Shilovite, http://www.mindat.org/min-46139.html *

Chanabayaite Chanabayaite is the first recognized triazolate mineral, having the formula . Minor iron admixture is also present. It is also one of a few currently known minerals containing ammine groups, including also ammineite, joanneumite and shilovite. ...

, CuCl(N₃C₂H₂)(NH₃)·0.25H₂O (an alternative formula), a

triazolate A triazolate is a salt derived from a triazole by the replacement of a proton with a cation. Different isomers exist 1,2,4-triazolate or 1,2,3-triazolate, both are unsaturated heterocyclic ring compounds containing three nitrogen atoms. The basic ...

mineral *

Joanneumite Joanneumite, confirmed as a new mineral in 2012, is the first recognized isocyanurate mineral, with the formula Cu(C3N3O3H2)2(NH3)2. Its crystal structure is identical to the structure of its synthetic analogue bis(isocyanurato)diamminecopper(II). ...

, Cu(C₃N₃O₃H₂)₂(NH₃)₂, an

isocyanurate Cyanuric acid or 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triol is a chemical compound with the formula (CNOH)3. Like many industrially useful chemicals, this triazine has many synonyms. This white, odorless solid finds use as a precursor or a component of bleaches ...

mineral * Shilovite, Cu(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂

Crystal structure

The characteristic features of the structure of ammineite are: * layers of trans form of the copper complex, parallel to (001), connected by Cu-Cl bonds * presence of CuN₂Cl₄ distorted octahedron ( +2coordination) * edge-sharing of the octahedra produce zigzag chains along the 01direction * hydrogen bonds between NH₃ and Cl atoms

Associated minerals

Ammineite coexists with

atacamite Atacamite is a copper halide mineral: a copper(II) chloride hydroxide with formula Cu2Cl(OH)3. It was first described for deposits in the Atacama Desert of Chile in 1802 by Dmitri de Gallitzin. The Atacama Desert is also the namesake of the min ...

, darapskite,

halite Halite ( ), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

and

salammoniac Salammoniac, also sal ammoniac or salmiac, is a rare naturally occurring mineral composed of ammonium chloride, NH4Cl. It forms colorless, white, or yellow-brown crystals in the isometric-hexoctahedral class. It has very poor cleavage and is br ...

Origin

Ammineite is supposed to be a result of an interaction of an earlier copper mineral, likely from a plutonic rock, with ammonia in guano. Ammonia may be produced in decomposition of compounds like

urea Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the Chemical formula, formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the meta ...

References

{{reflist Copper(II) minerals Chloride minerals Ammonium minerals Orthorhombic minerals Minerals in space group 63 Minerals described in 2010