Austinite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Austinite was named to honor Professor Austin Flint Rogers (1877-1957), American mineralogist, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.

Discovered in 1935;   IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

CaZn(AsO₄)(OH)

Calcium Zinc Arsenate Hydroxide

Molecular Weight:

261.39 gm

Composition:

Calcium

15.33 %

Ca

21.45 %

CaO

Zinc

25.02 %

Zn

31.14 %

ZnO

Arsenic

28.66 %

As

43.96 %

As₂O₅

Hydrogen

0.39 %

H

3.45 %

H₂O

Oxygen

30.60 %

O

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Phosphates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

7/B.26-40

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

8.BH.35

8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
B : Phosphates, etc., with additional anions, without H₂O
H : With medium-sized and large cations, (OH,etc.):RO₄ = 1:1

Related to:

Adelite-Descloizite Group. Austinite-Conichalcite Series. The zinc analogue of Cobaltausinite and Nickelaustinite.

Members of Group:

Adelite-Descloizite Group: Adelite, Arsendescloizite, Austinite, Cechite, Cobaltaustinite, Conichalcite, Descloizite, Duftite, Gabrielsonite, Gottlobite, Hermannroseite, Mottramite, Nickelaustinite, Pyrobelonite, Tangeite

Varieties:

Cobaltoan Austinite, Cuprian Austinite  

Synonyms:

Brickerite

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Orthorhombic - Disphenoidal

Crystal Habit:

As enantiomorphous bladed crystals exhibiting {011}, {111}, {111}, {010} and several other forms, sometimes forming scepters. Also as radially fibrous crusts and nodules.

Twinning:

Left- and right-handed individuals joined on (100), with (010) and (001) coincident.

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

Good on {011}

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven, Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

4.0 - 4.5

Density:

4.13 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless to pale Yellowish White or bright Green; Colorless in transmitted light.

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Sub-Adamantine, Silky in aggregates

Refractive Index:

1.759 - 1.783  Biaxial ( + )

Birefringence:

0.0240

Dispersion:

Weak; r > v

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

A rare secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of some arsenic-rich base-metal deposits.

Common Associations:

Adamite, Limonite, Quartz, Talmessite (Gold Hill, Utah, USA)

Common Impurities:

None

Type Locality:

Gold Hill Mine (Western Utah Mine), Gold Hill, Gold Hill District (Clifton District), Deep Creek Mts, Tooele County, Utah, USA

Year Discovered:

1935

View mineral photos:

Austinite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Austinite is a fairly rare mineral and an extremely rare gem. Mineral specimens are very collectable as they occur as radial clusters of colorless to intense emerald green crystals. Austinite forms in the oxidation zone of zinc ore deposits often associated with Adamite.

Austinite is found in just a handful of localities. In the USA, at the Type Locality in the Western Utah mine, Gold Hill, Tooele County, Utah; at the Mohawk mine, Clark Mountains, San Bernardino County, California; from the Table Mountain mine, Galiuro Mountains, Pinal County, Arizona; at Sterling Hill, Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey; in the Tucker’s tunnel uranium deposit, near Durango, Hinsdale County, Colorado. From the Ojuela mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico. At the Lili mine, near Lomitos, Bolivia. From the Kamariza mine, Laurium, Greece. At Tsumeb and Guchab, Otavi district, Namibia. In the Puttapa zinc mine, near Beltana, South Australia.
 

  
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