Sarkinite, synonymous with chondrarsenite and polyarsenite, is a mineral with formula Mn₂(AsO₄)(OH). The mineral is named for the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''σάρκιυος'', meaning made of flesh, for its red color and greasy luster. The mineral was first noted in Sweden in 1865 as chondrarsenite, though not identified as sarkinite until 1885.

Description

Sarkinite is red to yellow in color. It occurs as thick tabular crystals, short prismatic crystals, or has a granular

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

. Sarkinite sometimes aggregates into a roughly spherical shape. Sarkinite is a member of the Wagnerite Group. The mineral occurs in manganese-rich lenses in quartzitic chlorite

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

s, metamorphosed zinc ore bodies, and rarely in metamorphosed Fe– Mn ore bodies.

Structure

Sarkinite is

isostructural Isostructural chemical compounds have similar chemical structures. "Isomorphous" when used in the relation to crystal structures is not synonymous: in addition to the same atomic connectivity that characterises isostructural compounds, isomorphous s ...

with

triploidite Triploidite is an uncommon manganese iron phosphate mineral with formula: . It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system and typically occurs as elongated and striated slender prisms which may be columnar to fibrous. Its crystals may be pink ...

and wolfeite and is a

dimorph In materials science, polymorphism describes the existence of a solid material in more than one form or crystal structure. Polymorphism is a form of isomerism. Any crystalline material can exhibit the phenomenon. Allotropy refers to polymorphism ...

eveite Eveite is a manganese arsenate mineral in the olivenite group. Its chemical formula is Mn2AsO4OH. It is found only in Långban, Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden and at the Sterling Mine in New Jersey, United States. It is a dimorph of sarkinite and ...

.Halenius, p. 113. The crystal structure consists of MnO₄(OH)₂

octahedra In geometry, an octahedron (plural: octahedra, octahedrons) is a polyhedron with eight faces. The term is most commonly used to refer to the regular octahedron, a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at ...

, MnO₄(OH)

trigonal bipyramid In geometry, the triangular bipyramid (or dipyramid) is a type of hexahedron, being the first in the infinite set of face-transitive bipyramids. It is the dual of the triangular prism with 6 isosceles triangle faces. As the name suggests, it ...

s, and AsO₄

tetrahedra In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ...

.Dal Negro, p. 246.

History

In 1885, two similar minerals were discovered in Sweden. Polyarsenite was found in

Grythyttan Grythyttan is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Hällefors Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 891 inhabitants in 2010. It is located between two lakes, Torrvarpen and Sör-Älgen. It is chiefly known in Sweden for the Grythyttan ...

and named by Igelström for its high arsenic content. Sarkinite was discovered in Pajsberg, Persberg, and named by A. Sjögren after the Greek word ''σάρκιυος'', meaning made of flesh, in reference to the blood-red color and greasy luster. It was considered likely that the two minerals were identical. A study in 1980 showed that polyarsenite and chondrarsenite, discovered in 1865, were in fact both sarkinite.

Distribution

, sarkinite has been found in Austria, France, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

Association

Sarkinite has been found in association with: Harstigen mine, Sweden *

Barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

, bementite, brandtite,

calcite Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scra ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

Sjö mine, Sweden *

Jacobsite Jacobsite is a manganese iron oxide mineral. It is in the spinel group and forms a solid solution series with magnetite. The chemical formula is (Mn,Mg)Fe2O4 or with oxidation states and substitutions: (Mn2+,Fe2+,Mg)(Fe3+,Mn3+)2O4.

, katoptrite,

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With ...

tephroite Tephroite is the manganese endmember of the olivine group of nesosilicate minerals with the formula Mn2 Si O4. A solid solution series exists between tephroite and its analogues, the group endmembers fayalite and forsterite. Divalent iron or ...

Ködnitz Valley, Austria *

Pyroxmangite Pyroxmangite has the general chemical formula of MnSiO3. It is the high-pressure, low-temperature dimorph of rhodonite. It was first described in 1913 and named for the mineral group, pyroxenes, and is known as the manganese member. It forms a se ...

rhodochrosite Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition MnCO3. In its (rare) pure form, it is typically a rose-red color, but impure specimens can be shades of pink to pale brown. It streaks white, and its Mohs hardness varies bet ...

rhodonite Rhodonite is a manganese inosilicate, (Mn, Fe, Mg, Ca)SiO3 and member of the pyroxenoid group of minerals, crystallizing in the triclinic system. It commonly occurs as cleavable to compact masses with a rose-red color (the name comes from the Gr ...

spessartine Spessartine is a nesosilicate, manganese aluminium garnet species, Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3. Gemological Institute of America, ''GIA Gem Reference Guide'' 1995, This mineral is sometimes mistakenly referred to as ''spessartite''. Spessartine's name i ...

, tiragalloite Falotta mine, Switzerland * Brandtite,

braunite Braunite is a silicate mineral containing both di- and tri- valent manganese with the chemical formula: Mn2+Mn3+6 SiO4 Common impurities include iron, calcium, boron, barium, titanium, aluminium, and magnesium. Braunite forms grey/black tetragon ...

, grischunite, manganoan berzeliite,

tilasite Tilasite is an arsenate mineral gemstone, with the elemental formula Ca Mg( As O4) F. It prefers the monoclinic form of crystal, and has Mohs hardness of 5. It was named in 1895 by Hjalmar Sjögren in honor of Daniel Tilas, who was once director ...

Sterling Hill, New Jersey, US *

Adamite Adamite is a zinc arsenate hydroxide mineral, Zn2 As O4O H. It is a mineral that typically occurs in the oxidized or weathered zone above zinc ore occurrences. Pure adamite is colorless, but usually it possess yellow color due to Fe compoun ...

allactite Allactite is a rare arsenate mineral of Metamorphism, metamorphosed manganese zinc ore deposits. It is found in Sweden and New Jersey, US. Its name originated from Greek αλλάκτειν (allaktein) meaning "to change", referring to the strong pl ...

barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

, brandtite,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

euchroite Euchroite is a hydrated copper arsenate hydroxide mineral with formula: Cu2AsO4OH·3H2O. It is a vitreous green to emerald green mineral crystallizing in the orthorhombic system. It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 - 4.0 and a specific gravity of 3.39 ...

, kraisslite,

manganese oxides Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial all ...

, parabrandtite,

, serpierite,

willemite Willemite is a zinc silicate mineral () and a minor ore of zinc. It is highly fluorescent (green) under shortwave ultraviolet light. It occurs in a variety of colors in daylight, in fibrous masses and apple-green gemmy masses. Troostite is a vari ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{commonscat-inline, Sarkinite Manganese(II) minerals Arsenate minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 10