Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T19:11:14.894Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Archerite, (K,NH4)H2PO4, a new mineral from Madura, Western Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

P. J. Bridge
P. J. Bridge*
Affiliation:
Government Chemical Laboratories, Perth, Western Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Archerite, (K, NH4)H2PO4, a new mineral, has been found in Petrogale Cave, 36 km east of Madura Motel (31° 54′S, 127°00′E) Western Australia. Archerite and biphosphammite together with aphthitalite, halite, syngenite, stercorite, oxammite, weddellite, whitlockite, guanine, newberyite, calcite, (NH4)2Ca(HPO4)2·H2O, and an unknown occur as stalactites and wall and floor crusts.

Archerite is tetragonal with second order prisms and pyramids in crystals up to 2 mm in length with D 2·23, ω 1·513, ε 1·470, all close to artificial KH2PO4. The mineral is soft, has a white streak, and is soluble in cold H2O. Cell dimensions of natural archerite were not determined and the composition was calculated from measurements of selected powder lines correlated with charts prepared from end-member data and by chemistry which gave 81% KH2PO4 and K2O 10·8, NH2 3·46 respectively, the latter corresponding to (K0·74(NH4)0·26)H2PO4.

The name is for Dr. M. Archer, Curator of Mammals, Queensland Museum. Type material is stored in the collections of the Government Chemical Laboratories, Perth, Western Australia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 41 , Issue 317 , March 1977 , pp. 33 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bridge, (P. J.), 1973. Mineral. Mag. 39, 467–9 [M.A. 74-499].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coates, (R. V.) and Woodard, (G. D.). 1963. J. Sci. Food Agr. 14, 398–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frazier, (A. W.), Lehr, (J. R.), and Smith, (J. P.), 1964. J. Agr. Food Chem. 12, 3, 198-201.Google Scholar
Pryce, (M. W.), 1972. Mineral. Mag. 38, 965–7 [M.A. 73-797].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swanson, (H. E.) and Fuyat, (R. K.), 1953. Nat. Bur. Standards. Circular No. 539, Section III, 69 [M.A. 12-430].Google Scholar
Winchell, (A. N.) and Winchell, (H.), 1964. The microscopical characters of artificial inorganic solid substances. 3rd edn., 186-187. New York—London, Academic Press Inc. [M.A. 17-is].Google Scholar