Diaboleite
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Diaboleite is named from the Greek word dia, meaning distinct from, and Boleite, in allusion to its difference from Boleite. Boleite is named for the type locality, Boleo, near Santa Rosalia, Baja California.

Discovered in 1923; IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

Pb₂CuCl₂(OH)₄

Lead Copper Chloride Hydroxide

Molecular Weight:

616.88 gm

Composition:

Copper

10.30 %

Cu

11.60 %

Cu₂O

Hydrogen

0.65 %

H

5.84 %

H₂O

Lead

67.18 %

Pb

72.36 %

PbO

Chlorine

11.49 %

Cl

11.49 %

Cl

—

-  %

Cl

-2.59 %

-O=Cl₂

Oxygen

10.37 %

O

100.00 %

98.70 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

HALIDES

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

3/D.12-50

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

3.DB.05

3 : HALIDES
D : Oxyhalides, hydroxyhalides and related double halides
B : With Pb, Cu, etc.

Related to:

n/a

Varieties:

None

Synonyms:

None

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Tetragonal - Ditetragonal Pyramidal

Crystal Habit:

Crystals tabular on {001}, exhibiting square or octagonal outline with vicinal forms, rarely showing pyramidal hemihedralism, to 2 em; in subparallel aggregates; massive.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

Perfect on {001} 

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

2.5

Density:

5.41 - 5.43 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Completely soluble in nitric acid.

Optical Properties

Color:

Deep blue; pale blue in transmitted light

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Adamantine, pearly on cleavages

Refractive Index:

1.850 - 1.980  Uniaxial ( - ) 

Birefringence:

0.130

Dispersion:

n/a

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

In oxidized manganese ores (Mendip Hills, England); a secondary mineral in deeply oxidized Pb-Cu ores (Tiger, Arizona, USA); in slag exposed to seawater.

Common Associations:

Chloroxiphite, Hydrocerussite, Mendipite, Cerussite (Mendip Hills, England); Boleite, Wherryite, Hydrocerussite, Leadhillite, Phosgenite, Caledonite, Atacamite, Paratacamite, Cerussite (Tiger, Arizona, USA).

Common Impurities:

n/a

Type Locality:

Higher Pitts Mine, Priddy, Mendip Hills, Somerset, England, UK

Year Discovered:

1923

View mineral photos:

Diaboleite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Diaboleite is named from the Greek word dia, meaning distinct from, and Boleite, in allusion to its difference from Boleite. Boleite is named for the type locality, Boleo, near Santa Rosalia, Baja California. Despite being "distinct from" Boleite, Diaboleite is closely related to Boleite. It is also closely related to Psuedoboleite ("false" Boleite) and Cumengeite. All four minerals are secondary copper minerals. They are also Halide minerals. The Halides are a group of minerals whose principle anions are halogens. Halogens are a special group of elements that usually have a charge of negative one when chemically combined. The halogens that are commonly found in nature include Fluorine, Chlorine, Iodine and Bromine. Halides tend to have fairly simply ordered structures and therefore a high degree of symmetry.

Locations for Diaboleite: In England, at the Higher Pitts Farm, Mendip Hills, and the Merehead quarry, near Shepton Mallet, Somerset; at Padstow Consols, Padstow, Cornwall. In Germany, from the Christian-Levin mine, near Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and from Richelsdorf, Hesse, in slag. Along Baratti Beach, Tuscany, Italy, in slag. At Laurium, Greece, in slag. In the USA, exceptional crystals from the Mammoth-St. Anthony mine, Tiger, Pinal County, and from the Rowley mine, Maricopa County, Arizona. In Iran, in the Tchah Khuni and other mines in the Anarak district; the Seh-Changi mine, near Neyband, Khorassan; and at Abdol Abad, Tabas. From Moolyella, and at the Anticline prospect, 11 km west-southwest of Ashburton Downs homestead, Capricorn Range, Western Australia. In the Santa Ana mine, Caracoles, Sierra Gorda district, Chile. Found at an undefined locality in the Kopet- Dag Range, Cheleken Peninsula, Russia.
 

  
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