Lucchesiite is a new member of

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety of colors. The ...

-group of minerals. Lucchesiite has the formula CaFe₃Al₆(Si₆O₁₈)(BO₃)₃(OH)₃O. It is the

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

and

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

-analogue of schorl. It has two co-type localizations, one in Czech Republic and the other in Sri Lanka. As the other members of the tourmaline group, it is trigonal.Bosi, F., Skogby, H., Ciriotti, M.E., Gadas, P., Novák, M., Cempírek, J., Všianský, D., and Filip, J., 2015. Lucchesiite, IMA2015-043. CNMNC Newsletter No. 27, October 2015, page ; Mineralogical Magazine 79, 1229–1236Bosi, F., Skogby, H., Ciriotti, M.E., Gadas, P., Novák, M., Cempírek, J., Všianský, D., and Filip, J., 2016. Lucchesiite, CaFe²⁺₃Al₆(Si₆O₁₈)(BO₃)₃(OH)₃O, a new mineral species of the tourmaline supergroup. Mineralogical Magazine 80(1)

Notes on chemistry

Impurites in lucchesiite, depending on the provenience, are

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

, trivalent

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

, and minor

vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

References

Cyclosilicates Calcium minerals Iron(II) minerals Aluminium minerals Borate minerals Trigonal minerals Minerals in space group 160 Tourmalines {{mineral-stub