Hopeite is a hydrated

zinc phosphate Zinc phosphate is an inorganic compound with the formula Zn3( PO4)2. This white powder is widely used as a corrosion resistant coating on metal surfaces either as part of an electroplating process or applied as a primer pigment (see also red lead ...

with formula: Zn₃(PO₄)₂·4H₂O. It is a rare mineral used mainly as a collectors specimen. Hopeite crystallizes in the

orthorhombic In crystallography, the orthorhombic crystal system is one of the 7 crystal systems. Orthorhombic lattices result from stretching a cubic lattice along two of its orthogonal pairs by two different factors, resulting in a rectangular prism with a r ...

system with

prismatic An optical prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that are designed to refract light. At least one surface must be angled — elements with two parallel surfaces are ''not'' prisms. The most familiar type of optical ...

vitreous Vitreous may refer to: Materials * Glass, an amorphous solid material ** Vitreous enamel, a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing * Vitreous lustre, a glassy luster or sheen on a mineral surface Biology * Vitreous body, ...

white to yellow crystals. It also forms druzy encrustations and reniform (kidney-shaped) masses. The related mineral parahopeite, which has the same composition but different crystal structure, is triclinic. The minerals are formed through oxidation of

sphalerite Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimen ...

by the presence of phosphate-rich solutions It was first described in 1822 from Moresnet, Liège Province, Belgium and is named after

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

chemist, Thomas Charles Hope (1766–1844) of the University of Edinburgh. It has been found in Zambia associated with lazulite. Hopeite is one of the 2 conversion minerals arising from the application of the rust converter 'Fertan'.

References

Mindat with location data

Webmineral data
Hopeite-Parahopeite-142357

Phosphate minerals Zinc minerals Orthorhombic minerals Minerals in space group 62 Minerals described in 1822 {{phosphate-mineral-stub