Abellaite is a hydrous

carbonate mineral Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion, . Carbonate divisions Anhydrous carbonates *Calcite group: trigonal **Calcite CaCO3 **Gaspéite (Ni,Mg,Fe2+)CO3 **Magnesite MgCO3 **Otavite CdCO3 **Rhodochrosite MnCO3 **Sider ...

discovered in the abandoned Eureka uranium mine in the village of Torre de Capdella (Lleida province),

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Spain. The ideal chemical formula of abellaite is NaPb₂(CO₃)₂(OH). It is named in honor of Joan Abella i Creus, a Catalan gemmologist who has long studied minerals from the Eureka mine and first found abellaite in the mine. A team composed, among others, by Jordi Ibáñez-Insa from the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (CSIC) and by Joan Viñals and Xavier Llovet from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

, identified and characterized the mineral’s structure and chemical composition. Abellaite crystals are colorless to white, with a glassy or pearly appearance, and are easily crumbled. The mineral has a known synthetic analogue and is chemically similar to sanrománite.

Robert Hazen Robert Miller Hazen (born November 1, 1948) is an American mineralogist and astrobiologist. He is a research scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory and Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Science at George ...

et al. predicted its existence in 2015.

Localities

Catalonia, Spain Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

: Eureka mine, Castell-estaó, La Torre de Cabdella, La Vall Fosca, El Pallars Jussà, Lleida, Catalonia

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

: Yubileinaya pegmatite, Karnasurt Mt, Lovozero Massif, Murmanskaya Oblast', Northern Region

References

External links

* Carbonate minerals Trigonal minerals Minerals in space group 159 {{carbonate-mineral-stub