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Kingsgateite, ZrMo6+2O7(OH)2⋅2H2O, the first natural zirconium molybdate from Kingsgate, New South Wales, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2022

Peter Elliott*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
Anthony R. Kampf
Affiliation:
Mineral Sciences Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
*
*Author for correspondence: Peter Elliott, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Kingsgateite, ZrMo6+2O7(OH)2⋅2H2O, is a new supergene mineral from the Old 25 Pipe, Kingsgate, Gough Co., New South Wales, Australia. The mineral occurs in cavities in a quartz, muscovite matrix associated with molybdenite, gelosaite and mambertiite. It forms yellowish green to bluish grey, square tabular crystals to 0.12 mm across. Kingsgateite has a white streak and a vitreous lustre. Cleavage was not observed and the fracture is uneven. The calculated density is 3.74 g/cm–3 based on the empirical formula. Kingsgateite is optically biaxial (+), the calculated indices of refraction are α = 1.88, β = 1.89, γ = 1.96 and 2Vcalc = 42.6°. The pleochroism is X = light orange, Y = light yellow and Z = red brown; Y < X < Z. The mineral is tetragonal, space group I41cd, a = 11.4626(16), c = 12.584(3) Å, V = 1653.4(6) Å3 and Z = 8. Electron microprobe analysis yielded ZrO2 23.09, UO2 1.14, ThO2 0.76, FeO 0.62, MoO3 59.27, P2O5 0.29, SO3 1.25, Cl 0.16, H2O 11.62, O=Cl –0.04, total 98.16 wt.%. The empirical formula on the basis of 11 anions per formula unit is Zr0.88U6+0.02Th0.01Fe2+0.04Mo6+1.94S0.07P0.02O6.90Cl0.02OH2.08⋅2.00H2O. The crystal structure of kingsgateite, refined using synchrotron single-crystal data [R1 = 4.53% for 1159 reflections with Fo > 4σ(Fo)], is a framework of edge- and corner-sharing ZrO5(OH)2 pentagonal bipyramids and MoO4(OH)(H2O) octahedra. Kingsgateite is isostructural with the synthetic compound ZrMo6+2O7(OH)2⋅2H2O.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: Peter Leverett

References

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