Chibaite is a rare silicate mineral. It is a silica clathrate with formula (n = 3/17 (max)). The mineral is cubic (diploidal class, m) and the

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

hosts or traps various

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

s, such as

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

, ethane, propane and isobutane.Chibaite
on Mindat.org Chibaite was first described for specimens collected from Arakawa, Minamibōsō, Chiba Prefecture, Honshu Island,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The mineral was approved by the IMA in 2009.

References

Gatta, C. B., ''Chibaite,'' American Mineralogist, New Mineral Names, Volume 97, pp 2064–2072, 2012
Silicate minerals Cubic minerals Clathrates Organic minerals Minerals described in 2009 Hydrocarbons {{mineral-stub