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Deveroite-(Ce): a new REE-oxalate from Mount Cervandone, Devero Valley, Western-Central Alps, Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

A. Guastoni
Affiliation:
Museo di Mineralogia, Università di Padova, Via Giotto 1, I-35122, Padova, Italy
F. Nestola*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, I-35131, Padova, Italy
P. Gentile
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche e Geotecnologie, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 4, I- 20100 Milan, Italy
F. Zorzi
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, I-35131, Padova, Italy
M. Alvaro
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, I-35131, Padova, Italy
A. Lanza
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Universita di Padova, Via Marzolo 1, I-35131 Padova, Italy
L. Peruzzo
Affiliation:
C.N.R., Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Via Gradenigo 6, I-35131 Padova, Italy
M. Schiazza
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University G. d’Annunzio, I-66100 Chieti, Italy
N. M. Casati
Affiliation:
Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
*

Abstract

Deveroite-(Ce), ideally Ce2(C2O4)3·10H2O, is a new mineral (IMA 2013-003) found in the alpine fissures of Mount Cervandone, overlooking the Devero Valley, Piedmont, Italy. It occurs as sprays of colourless elongated tabular, acicular prisms only on cervandonite-(Ce). It has a white streak, a vitreous lustre, is not fluorescent and has a hardness of 2–2.5 (Mohs' scale). The tenacity is brittle and the crystals have a perfect cleavage along {010}. The calculated density is 2.352 g/cm3. Deveroite-(Ce) is biaxial (–) with 2V of ∼77°, is not pleochroic and the extinction angle (β ∧ c) is ∼27°. No twinning was observed. Electron microprobe analyses gave the following chemical formula: (Ce1.01Nd0.33La0.32Pr0.11Y0.11Sm0.01Pb0.04U0.03Th0.01Ca0.04)2.01(C2O4)2.99·9.99H2O. Although synchrotron radiation was not used to solve the structure of deveroite-(Ce) the extremely small size of the sample (13 μm × 3 μm × 1 μm) did not allow us to obtain reliable structural data. However, it was possible to determine the space group (monoclinic, P21/c) and the unit-cell parameters, which are: a = 11.240(8) Å, b = 9.635(11) Å, c = 10.339(12) Å, β = 114.41(10)°, V = 1019.6 Å3. The strongest lines in the powder diffraction pattern [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are: 10.266(100)(100); 4.816(35.26)(21); 3.415(27.83)(300); 5.125(24.70)(200); and 4.988(22.98)(111). Deveroite-(Ce) is named in recognition of Devero valley and Devero Natural Park.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2013

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