Hanksite is a

sulfate mineral The sulfate minerals are a class of minerals that include the sulfate ion () within their structure. The sulfate minerals occur commonly in primary evaporite depositional environments, as gangue minerals in hydrothermal veins and as secondary mine ...

, distinguished as one of only a handful that contain both

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...

and

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...

groups. It has the chemical formula Na₂₂ K( SO₄)₉( CO₃)₂ Cl.

Occurrence

It was first described in 1888 for an occurrence in Searles Lake, California, and named for American geologist

Henry Garber Hanks Henry Garber Hanks (May 12, 1826 – June 19, 1907) was an American mineralogist. He was the first state mineralogist of California. Early life Henry Garber Hanks was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 12, 1826. His father Jarvis Frary Hanks was ...

. Hanksite is normally found in

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

form as

evaporite An evaporite () is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocea ...

deposits. Hanksite crystals are large but not complex in structure. It is often found in

Searles Lake Searles Lake is an endorheic dry lake in the Searles Valley of the Mojave Desert, in northwestern San Bernardino County, California. The lake in the past was also called Slate Range Lake and Borax Lake. The mining community of Trona is on its ...

Soda Lake A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt complex ...

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake which make its water alk ...

, and in

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

. At its deposits in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

hanksite is commonly found beneath the surface embedded in mud or in drill cores (Palache et al., 1960). It is associated with

halite Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form, ...

trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3•2NaHCO3•3H2O) is a non- marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replace ...

and

aphthitalite Aphthitalite is a potassium sulfate mineral with the chemical formula: (K,Na)3Na(SO4)2. It was first described in 1835 for an occurrence on Mount Vesuvius, Italy. The name is from the Greek άφθητος, "unalterable", and άλας, "salt", for ...

at the Searles Lake locality. It is also associated with borax mining in the Soda Lake area.

Physical characteristics

Hanksite can be colorless, white, gray, green or yellow and is transparent or translucent. The mineral's hardness is approximately 3 to 3.5. The

specific gravity Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water (molecule), wa ...

is approximately 2.5 (slightly below average). It is salty to the taste and sometimes glows pale yellow in

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

light. Typical growth habits are hexagonal prisms or tabular with pyramidal terminations. The streak of Hanksite is white. It can contain inclusions of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

that the crystal formed around while developing.

Similar minerals

Halite Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...

Borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form, ...

Trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3•2NaHCO3•3H2O) is a non- marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replace ...

Nahcolite Nahcolite is a soft, colourless or white carbonate mineral with the composition of sodium bicarbonate ( Na H C O3) also called thermokalite. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system. Nahcolite was first described in 1928 for an occurrence in a ...

Tincalconite Tincalconite is a hydrous sodium borate mineral closely related to borax, and is a secondary mineral that forms as a dehydration product of borax. Its formula is Na2 B4 O7·5 H2O or Na2 hydrogen.html"_;"title="4O5(Ohydrogen">H)4�3H2O. Tincalconi ...

References

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Bibliography

*Palache, P.; Berman H.; Frondel, C. (1960). "''Dana's System of Mineralogy, Volume II: Halides, Nitrates, Borates, Carbonates, Sulfates, Phosphates, Arsenates, Tungstates, Molybdates, Etc. (Seventh Edition)"'' John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, pp. 628-629. Sodium minerals Sulfate minerals Carbonate minerals Halide minerals Hexagonal minerals Minerals in space group 176 Evaporite