Meyerhofferite  
Current inventory:  0 gems
 

  
Meyerhofferite was named in honor of Professor Wilhelm Meyerhoffer (1864–1906), German chemist, who first synthesized the compound.

Discovery in 1914;   IMA status:  Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

Ca₂B₆O₆(OH)₁₀•2(H₂O)

Hydrated Calcium Borate Hydroxide

Molecular Weight:

447.12 gm

Composition:

Calcium

17.93 %

Ca

25.08 %

CaO

Boron

14.51 %

B

46.71 %

B₂O₃

Hydrogen

3.16 %

H

28.20 %

H₂O

Oxygen

64.41 %

O

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Borates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

5/H.06-40

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

6.CA.30

6 : BORATES
C : Triborates
A : Neso-triborates

Related to:

Inderite Group. Occurs principally as an alteration product of Inyoite.

Varieties:

n/a

Synonyms:

n/a

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Triclinic - Pinacoidal

Crystal Habit:

Rare as complex acicular to crude crystals, to  4 cm, in fibrous divergent, radiating aggregates, commonly reticulated; may be nodular.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

On {010} Perfect; in traces on {100} and {110}

Fracture:

Conchoidal to Irregular/Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

2.0

Density:

2.120 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Readily soluble in acids.

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless to White, pale Yellow

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent

Luster:

Vitreous to Silky

Refractive Index:

1.500 - 1.560  Biaxial  ( - )

Birefringence:

0.060 

Dispersion:

Relatively Weak; r > v

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Typically a minor component of sedimentary or lake-bed borate deposits.

Common Associations:

Inyoite, Colemanite, Hydroboracite, Ulexite

Common Impurities:

n/a

Type Locality:

Mount Blanco Mine (Mount Blanco deposit; Mount Blanco adit), Mount Blanco, Black Mts, Furnace Creek District (Furnace Creek Borate District), Death Valley National Park, Inyo Co., California, USA

Year Discovered:

1914

View mineral photos:

Meyerhofferite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org 
Webmineral.com

Meyerhofferite is a hydrated borate mineral. It occurs principally as an alteration product of Inyoite, another borate mineral. Meyerhofferite is rarely cut as a gem because it is very soft, has perfect cleavage and since crystals are very rarely large enough or clean enough. Gems are an oddity for collectors of the rare and unusual.

Natural Meyerhofferite was discovered in 1914 in Death Valley, California. It is named for German chemist Wilhelm Meyerhoffer (1864-1906), collaborator with J. H. van't Hoff on the composition and origin of saline minerals, who first synthesized the compound.

Distribution of Meyerhofferite is in the USA, from the Mt. Blanco deposit and along Gower Gulch, Furnace Creek district, Death Valley, Inyo County, and in the Kramer borate deposit, Boron, Kern County, California. At Mesa del Almo, 13 km southeast of Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico. In Argentina, at the Anita mine, Sijes district, and in the Tincalayu borax deposit, Salar del Hombre Muerto, Salta Province. In Turkey, from many deposits in the Bigadiç borate district, Balikesir Province; in the Killik and Espey borate mines, near Emet, Kütahya Province. At the Inder borate deposit, Kazakhstan.
 

  
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