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Abernathyite

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Abernathyite
Pale yellow abernathyite crystals and green heinrichite crystals
General
CategoryArsenate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)
K(UO2)(AsO4)·3H2O[1]
IMA symbolAbn[2]
Strunz classification8.EB.15
Dana classification40.2a.9.1
Crystal systemTetragonal
Crystal classDitetragonal dipyramidal (4/mmm)
H-M symbol: (4/m 2/m 2/m)
Space groupP4/ncc[3][4]
Unit cella = 7.176, c = 18.126 [Å]
Z = 4
Identification
ColorYellow
CleavagePerfect on {001}
TenacityBrittle
Mohs scale hardness2.5–3
LusterSub-Vitreous, resinous, waxy, greasy
StreakPale yellow
DiaphaneityTransparent
Specific gravity3.32 (measured) 3.572 (calculated)
Optical propertiesUniaxial (−)
Refractive indexnω = 1.597 – 1.608
nε = 1.570
Birefringenceδ = 0.027 – 0.038
PleochroismWeak
2V angle5° (measured)
Ultraviolet fluorescenceYellow-green in longwave and shortwave UV[4]
Other characteristics Radioactive
References[3]

Abernathyite is a mineral with formula K(UO2)(AsO4)·3H2O. The mineral is named after Jesse Evrett Abernathy (1913–1963) who first noted it in 1953 in the U.S. State of Utah. It was described as a new mineral species in 1956. Abernathyite is yellow and occurs as small crystals.

Description

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Abernathyite is a transparent, yellow mineral that occurs as tabular crystals up to 3 millimeters (0.12 in). The mineral has a single perfect cleavage on {001}. Abernathyite fluoresces yellow-green in longwave and shortwave ultraviolet.[4] Because of its uranium content, the mineral is radioactive.[5]

Occurrence and formation

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Abernathyite forms as a coating on fractures of asphaltic sandstone containing uranium deposits. The mineral occurs in association with heinrichite, scorodite, and zeunerite.[4] Abernathyite is known from France, Germany, Poland, South Africa, and the United States.[3]

Structure and formula

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When first described in 1956, the formula was identified as K(UO2)(AsO4)·4H2O. However, only about 25 milligrams of the mineral was available for analysis, so a number of precautions were taken by running duplicate analyses and using artificial mixtures.[6] In 1964, further study of the mineral identified inconsistencies between electron-density subtraction maps and the chemical evidence that abernathyite contains potassium. This led the authors to revise the formula as K(UO2)(AsO4)·3H2O.[7]

Abernathyite crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system.[3]

History

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Jess Abernathy was the operator of the Fuemrol mine in Emery County, Utah. In the summer of 1953, he noted yellow crystals coating sandstone at the mine which he thought might be mineralogically significant. The specimens were sent to Grand Junction, Colorado, for study by United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) mineralogist E. B. Gross. He could not match the mineral's optical properties with any known species, so he sent the specimens to Washington D.C. where adequate facilities were available for further investigation. Mineralogists A. D. Weeks and M. E. Thompson of the United States Geological Survey studied the mineral on behalf of the AEC's Raw Materials Division.[8]

Abernathyite was described in the journal American Mineralogist in 1956. The mineral was named abernathyite in honor of discoverer Jess Abernathy.[8] Type specimens are held in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The New IMA List of Minerals – A Work in Progress – Update: November 2012" (PDF). Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification. International Mineralogical Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  2. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  3. ^ a b c d "Abernathyite". Mindat. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (eds.). "Abernathyite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Chantilly, VA: Mineralogical Society of America.
  5. ^ "Abernathyite". Webmineral. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  6. ^ Thompson, Ingram & Gross 1956, pp. 86–87.
  7. ^ Ross & Evans 1964, pp. 1587–1588.
  8. ^ a b Thompson, Ingram & Gross 1956, p. 82.
Bibliography
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