Roeblingite
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Roeblingite was named in 1897 by Samuel Lewis Penfield and Harry Ward Foote in honor of Colonel Washington A. Roebling (1837 – 1926), founder of the Mineralogical Society of America, engineer, inventor of the diving bell, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and avid mineral collector.

Discovered in 1897; IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

Pb₂Ca₆Mn²⁺Si₆O₁₈(SO₄)₂(OH)₂ • 4(H₂O)

Hydrated Lead Calcium Manganese Silicate Sulfate Hydroxide

Molecular Weight:

1,409.57 gm

Composition:

Calcium

17.06 %

Ca

23.87 %

CaO

Silicon

11.95 %

Si

25.58 %

SiO₂

Hydrogen

0.72 %

H

6.39 %

H₂O

Lead

29.40 %

Pb

31.67 %

PbO

Sulfur

4.55 %

S

11.36 %

SO₃

Oxygen

36.32 %

O

100.00 %

98.86 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Silicates (Germanates)

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

8/E.02-30

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

9.CB.05

9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
C : Cyclosilicates
B : [Si₃O₉]₆- 3-membered single rings, with insular complex anions

Related to:

n/a

Varieties:

None

Synonyms:

None

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Monoclinic - Prismatic

Crystal Habit:

As dense, compact, very fine grained masses of tiny lathlike crystals, which may be in parallel growth; as platy aggregates.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

Perfect on {001}

Fracture:

Fibrous

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

3.0

Density:

3.443 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

Fluoresces dull red to dull orange-red under SW UV.

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Health Warning:

CAUTION: Contains Lead - always wash hands after handling. Avoid inhaling dust when handling or breaking. Do not lick or ingest.

Optical Properties

Color:

White to pale pink; colorless in thin section

Transparency:

Transparent, Opaque

Luster:

Dull to somewhat resinous. General appearance is porcelanous.

Refractive Index:

1.640 - 1.660  Biaxial ( + ) 

Birefringence:

0.020

Dispersion:

Relatively weak; r < v

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

As nodular masses in calcium silicate lenses containing abundant garnet (Franklin, New Jersey, USA); as fracture fillings in a metamorphosed Fe{Mn orebody (Långban, Sweden).

Common Associations:

Garnet, Titanite, Zircon, Phlogopite, Axinite, Willemite, Datolite, Barite, Calcite, Arsenopyrite, Sphalerite, Rhodonite, Rhodochrosite.

Willemite, Ganophyllite, Epidote-(Pb), Clinohedrite, Baryte, Andradite

Common Impurities:

Sr, Na, K, C

Type Locality:

Parker shaft, Franklin Mine, Franklin, Franklin Mining District, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA

Year Discovered:

1897

View mineral photos:

Roeblingite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Roeblingite was first described in 1897 from an occurance at the Parker shaft of the Franklin Mine, Franklin, New Jersey, USA. It was named by its discoverers Samuel Lewis Penfield and Harry Ward Foote to honor of Colonel Washington A. Roebling (1837 – 1926), founder of the Mineralogical Society of America, engineer, inventor of the diving bell, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and avid mineral collector. Roebling donated his extensive mineral collection to the Smithsonian Institution.

Roeblingite was among the first of the lead silicate minerals found at Franklin, many of which are known only from Franklin and from Långban, Värmland, Sweden, the only other location where Roeblingite can be found. Roeblingite is valued for its rarity, its discovery at the Franklin Mine and its fluorescent properties. It fluoresces dull red to orange-red under shortwave UV light.
 

  
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