Lindgrenite is an uncommon
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
molybdate
In chemistry a molybdate is a compound containing an oxoanion with molybdenum in its highest oxidation state of 6. Molybdenum can form a very large range of such oxoanions which can be discrete structures or polymeric extended structures, althoug ...
mineral with formula: Cu
3(MoO
4)
2(OH)
2. It occurs as tabular to platey
monoclinic
In crystallography, the monoclinic crystal system is one of the seven crystal systems. A crystal system is described by three vectors. In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal lengths, as in the orthorhombic s ...
green to yellow green crystals.
Discovery and occurrence
It was first described in 1935 for an occurrence in the
Chuquicamata Mine
Chuquicamata ( ; referred to as Chuqui for short) is the largest open pit copper mine in terms of excavated volume in the world. It is located in the north of Chile, just outside Calama, at above sea level. It is northeast of Antofagasta and ...
,
Antofagasta
Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.
After the Spanish American wars ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and named for Swedish–American
economic geologist
Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be used for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals and dimension stone, construction-grade stone. Economic geology i ...
Waldemar Lindgren
Waldemar Lindgren (February 14, 1860 – November 3, 1939) was a Swedish-American geologist. Lindgren was one of the founders of modern economic geology.
Biography
Waldemar Lindgren was born in Vassmolösa, Kalmar Municipality, in the historica ...
(1860–1939) of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
.
[
Lindgrenite occurs in the ]oxidized
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
portions of copper–molybdenum bearing sulfide ore deposits. Associated minerals include antlerite
Antlerite is a greenish hydrous copper sulfate mineral, with the formula Cu3(SO4)(OH)4. It occurs in tabular, acicular, or fibrous crystals with a vitreous luster. Originally believed to be a rare mineral, antlerite was found to be the primary o ...
, molybdenite
Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide, Mo S2. Similar in appearance and feel to graphite, molybdenite has a lubricating effect that is a consequence of its layered structure. The atomic structure consists of a sheet of molybdenum ato ...
, powellite
Powellite is a calcium molybdate mineral with formula CaMoO4. Powellite crystallizes with tetragonal - dipyramidal crystal structure as transparent adamantine blue, greenish brown, yellow to grey typically anhedral forms. It exhibits distinct cle ...
, brochantite
Brochantite is a sulfate mineral, one of a number of cupric sulfates. Its chemical formula is Cu4SO4(OH)6. Formed in arid climates or in rapidly oxidizing copper sulfide deposits, it was named by Armand Lévy for his fellow Frenchman, geologist ...
, chrysocolla
Chrysocolla ( ) is a hydrated copper phyllosilicate mineral and mineraloid with formula (x<1)[ or .][
The structure of the mineral has been questioned, as a 2006 spectrographic study suggest material identified as ...]
, iron oxide
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of whic ...
s and quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
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{{Commonscat
Copper(II) minerals
Molybdate minerals
Monoclinic minerals
Minerals in space group 14
Minerals described in 1935