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New data on the composition and crystal structure of galkhaite (Hg,Cu)6(Cs,Tl)(As,Sb)4S12

  • Mineralogical Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry
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Abstract

The composition of galkhaite from the Gal-Khaya deposit (Yakutia, Russia) and Chauvay Mine (Kyrgyzstan) has been examined by electron microprobe. A significant Cs content (up to 6.64 wt %) has been established in the mineral from both deposits; earlier, it had been not detected by either chemical or spectral analyses. The empirical formulas of galkhaite are (Hg4.89Cu0.92Zn0.07)5.88(Cs0.71Tl0.17)0.88(As3.98Sb0.17)4.15 S12.10 and (Hg4.64Cu0.98Zn0.34)5.96 (Cs0.85Tl0.04)0.89(As3.68Sb0.42)4.10S12.05 at the Gal-Khaya deposit and Chauvay Mine, respectively. The crystal structure of galkhaite from the Chauvay Mine (cubic, I43m, a = 10.4144(1) Å, V = 1129.5(2) Å3, Z = 2) for the composition [Hg4.83(Cu,Zn)0.98□](Cs0.71Tl0.14□) (As3.44Sb0.56)S12 has been determined by direct methods and refined to R = 0.0203. The structure of galkhaite is a framework consisting of vertex-shared [(Hg,Cu)-S4 2.5068(3) Å] tetrahedrons of the same orientation as large cavities formed in the initial sphalerite structural type due to eight anion vacancies: two [S4]-tetrahedrons at the point of origin and at the center of the I-cell and 12 cation vacancies as 2 cation octahedrons around the 000 and \( {\raise0.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 1$} \kern-0.1em/\kern-0.15em \lower0.25ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$}}{\raise0.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 1$} \kern-0.1em/\kern-0.15em \lower0.25ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$}}{\raise0.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 1$} \kern-0.1em/\kern-0.15em \lower0.25ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$}} \) sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Akademika Koptyuga 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    V. I. Vasil’ev

  2. Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Lavrent’eva 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    N. V. Pervukhina, S. V. Borisov & S. A. Magarill

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  1. V. I. Vasil’ev
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  2. N. V. Pervukhina
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  3. S. V. Borisov
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  4. S. A. Magarill
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Correspondence to V. I. Vasil’ev.

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Original Russian Text © V.I. Vasil’ev, N.V. Pervukhina, S.V. Borisov, S.A. Magarill, 2009, published in Zapiski RMO (Proceedings of the Russian Mineralogical Society), 2009, No. 2, pp. 83–91.

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Vasil’ev, V.I., Pervukhina, N.V., Borisov, S.V. et al. New data on the composition and crystal structure of galkhaite (Hg,Cu)6(Cs,Tl)(As,Sb)4S12 . Geol. Ore Deposits 52, 662–668 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701510070196

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