Hillesheimite, (K,Ca,□)2(Mg,Fe,Ca,□)2[(Si,Al)13O23(OH)6](OH) · 8H2O, a new phyllosilicate mineral of the Günterblassite group

Abstract

A new mineral, hillesheimite, has been found in the Graulai basaltic quarry, near the town of Hillesheim, the Eifel Mountains, Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany. It occurs in the late assemblage comprising nepheline, augite, fluorapatite, magnetite, perovskite, priderite, gotzenite, lamprophyllite-group minerals, and akermanite. Colorless flattened crystals of hillesheimite reaching 0.2 × 1 × 1.5 mm in size and aggregates of the crystals occur in miarolitic cavities in alkali basalt. The mineral is brittle, with Mohs’ hard-ness 4. Cleavage is perfect parallel to (010) and distinct on (100) and (001). D calc = 2.174 g/cm3, D meas = 2.16(1) g/cm3. IR spectrum is given. Hillesheimite is biaxial (−), α = 1.496(2), β = 1.498(2), γ = 1.499(2), 2V meas = 80°. The chemical composition (electron microprobe, mean of 4 point analyses, H2O determined from structural data, wt %) is as follows: 0.24 Na2O, 4.15 K2O, 2.14 MgO, 2.90 CaO, 2.20 BaO, 2.41 FeO, 15.54 Al2O3, 52.94 SiO2, 19.14 H2O, total is 101.65. The empirical formula is: K0.96Na0.08Ba0.16Ca0.56Mg0.58Fe 0.37 2+ [Si9.62Al3.32O23(OH)6][(OH)0.82(H2O)0.18] · 8H2O. The crystal structure has been determined from X-ray single-crystal diffraction data, R = 0.1735. Hillesheimite is orthorhombic, space group Pmmn, the unit-cell dimensions are: a = 6.979(11), b = 37.1815(18), c = 6.5296(15) A; V=1694(3) A3, Z = 2. The crystal structure is based on the block [(Si,Al)13O25(OH)4] consisting of three single tetrahedral layers linked via common vertices and is topologically identical to the triple layers in gunterblassite and umbrianite. The strong reflections [d A (I %)] in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are: 6.857(58), 6.545(100), 6.284(53), 4.787(96), 4.499(59), 3.065(86), 2.958(62), 2.767(62). The mineral was named after its type locality. Type specimens are deposited in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, registration number 4174/1.