Piypite is a rare

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

with formula: K₂Cu₂O(SO₄)₂. It crystallizes in the tetragonal system and occurs as needlelike crystals and masses. Individual crystals are square in cross-section and often hollow. It is emerald green to black in color with a vitreous to greasy luster. It was first described in 1982 for an occurrence in the Main Fracture of the Tolbachik volcano,

Kamchatka Oblast Kamchatka Oblast (russian: Камча́тская о́бласть, ''Kamchatskaya oblast'') was, until being incorporated into Kamchatka Krai on July 1, 2007, a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). To the north, it bordered Magadan Oblast ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It has also been reported from

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...

, Italy, and in a

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-prod ...

deposit in the Bad Ems District in the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, Germany. Piypite occurs as a sublimate phase in a

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

environment. Associated minerals include

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 ...

sylvite Sylvite, or sylvine, is potassium chloride (KCl) in natural mineral form. It forms crystals in the isometric system very similar to normal rock salt, halite ( NaCl). The two are, in fact, isomorphous. Sylvite is colorless to white with shades of ...

langbeinite Langbeinite is a potassium magnesium sulfate mineral with the chemical formula K2Mg2(SO4)3. Langbeinite crystallizes in the isometric-tetartoidal (cubic) system as transparent colorless or white with pale tints of yellow to green and violet cry ...

tenorite Tenorite is a copper oxide mineral with the chemical formula CuO. Occurrence Tenorite occurs in the weathered or oxidized zone associated with deeper primary copper sulfide orebodies. Tenorite commonly occurs with chrysocolla and the copper car ...

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

, tolbachite, dolerophanite,

urusovite Urusovite is a rare copper aluminium arsenate mineral with formula: CuAlAsO5. It is a monoclinic-prismatic light green mineral. Its type locality and only reported occurrence is in the Novaya fumarole, Second scoria cone, North Breach, Great F ...

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 ...

, ponomarevite,

cotunnite Cotunnite is the natural mineral form of lead(II) chloride with formula PbCl2. It was first described in 1825 from an occurrence on Mount Vesuvius, Naples Province, Campania, Italy. It was named for Domenico Cotugno (Cotunnius) (1736–1822), Ita ...

, chalcocyanite, sofiite,

euchlorine Euchlorine (KNaCu3(SO4)3O) is a rare emerald-green colored sulfate mineral found naturally occurring as a sublimate in fumaroles around volcanic eruptions. It was first discovered in fumaroles of the 1868 eruption at Mount Vesuvius in Campania, ...

, averievite, fedotovite,

alarsite Alarsite (AlAsO4) is an aluminium arsenate mineral with its name derived from its composition: aluminium and arsenate. It occurs as brittle subhedral grains which exhibit trigonal symmetry. It has a Mohs hardness of 5-5.5 and a specific gravity o ...

, alumoklyuchevskite, nabokoite and

lammerite Copper arsenate (Cu3(AsO4)2·4H2O, or Cu5H2(AsO4)4·2H2O), also called copper orthoarsenate, tricopper arsenate, cupric arsenate, or tricopper orthoarsenate, is a blue or bluish-green powder insoluble in water and alcohol and soluble in aqueous ...

at the type locality in Kamchatka. On Vesuvius, it occurs with

paratacamite Paratacamite is a mineral in the halide minerals category. Its chemical formula is . Its name is derived from its association with atacamite. It is found in Chile, Botallack Mine in Cornwall, Broken Hill, Australia, and in Italy in Capo Calamita ...

References

Sulfate minerals Tetragonal minerals Minerals in space group 79 {{sulfate-mineral-stub