Chaidamuite is a rare zinc – iron

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 Vein (geology), veins and as ...

with chemical formula: ZnFe³⁺(SO₄)₂(OH)·4H₂O. It was first described for an occurrence in the Xitieshan mine south of Mt. Qilianshan in the Chaidamu basin,

Qinghai Province Qinghai is an inland province in Northwestern China. It is the largest province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xining. Qinghai borders Gansu on the nort ...

, China and was named for the locality. It occurs as an

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

phase in a lead zinc deposit. In the type locality it is associated with the rare minerals: coquimbite, copiapite, butlerite and zincobotryogen. In addition to the Chinese occurrence, it has been reported from the Getchell Mine in the Potosi District in Humboldt County, Nevada.

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Bibliography

*Clark, A.M. (1993) Hey's Mineral Index (3rd edition). Alphabetical Index of Mineral Species, Varieties and Synonyms and Chemical Classification. 121 p. Chapman & Hall, New York, NY. *Jambor, J.L., and Burke, E.A.J. (1990) New Mineral Names. American Mineralogist, 75, 1431–1437. *Li, W., Chen, G., and Peng, Z. (1986) Chaidamuite. Acta Mineralogica Sinica, 6, 109. *Li, W.M., and Wang, Q.G. (1990) Determination and Refinement of the Crystal Structure of Chaidamuite (Issue 5). Science in China Series B-Chemistry, 33, 623–630 *Mandarino, J.A., and de Fourestier, J., (2005) Mineral Species First Found in People's Republic of China. (No. 2). Rocks and Minerals, 80, 114–117. Zinc minerals Iron(III) minerals Sulfate minerals Hydroxide minerals Tetrahydrate minerals Triclinic minerals Minerals in space group 1 Minerals described in 1986