Bukovskyite (also known as "''clay of Kutná Hora''") is an

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

arsenate The arsenate ion is . An arsenate (compound) is any compound that contains this ion. Arsenates are salts or esters of arsenic acid. The arsenic atom in arsenate has a valency of 5 and is also known as pentavalent arsenic or As(V). Arsenate res ...

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 ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

with formula: Fe₂(AsO₄)(SO₄)(OH)·7H₂O which forms nodules with a reniform (kidney-shaped) surface. Under a microscope, these nodules appear as a collection of minute needles similar to

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...

. Some can be seen with the naked eye and occur inside the nodules. Bukovskyite was first described from pit heaps from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, where sulfate ores had been mined at Kank, north of Kutná Hora in Bohemia,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and other old deposits in the vicinity. Only recently defined and acknowledged, it was approved by the International Mineralogical Association, IMA in 1969. Bukovskyite was collected a long time ago from the overgrown pit heaps by the inhabitants of Kutná Hora. It was used for poisoning fieldmice and other field vermin. This poisonous clay, known also by the place name as "clay of Kutná Hora"', was widely known and it was considered to be 'arsenic' (arsenic trioxide). In 1901 Antonín Bukovský (1865–1950), a Czech people, Czech chemist, who studied minerals of old pit heaps, proved it was an arsenate.

References

Mineralienatlas

Webmineral

External links

Iron(III) minerals Arsenate minerals Sulfate minerals Triclinic minerals {{sulfate-mineral-stub