Mawbyite

Mawbyite
General
CategoryMineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
Pb(Fe3+,Zn)2(AsO4)2(OH)2
IMA symbolMby
Strunz classification08.CG.15
Dana classification40.02.09.04
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic
H-M Symbol: 2/m
Space groupB2/m
Unit cell391.13
Identification
Formula mass649.02
ColorPale brown to orange-brown to bright reddish brown
Crystal habitSpherical or wheat sheaf shaped crystals
TwinningCommon, V-shaped at about {100}
CleavageGood on {001}
FractureConchoidal
Mohs scale hardness4
LusterAdamantine
StreakOrange-yellow
DiaphaneityTransparent to Translucent
Specific gravity5.365
Density5.5
Optical propertiesBiaxial (−)
Refractive indexnα = 1.940(2)
nβ = 2.000(2)
nγ = 2.040(2)
Birefringence0.100
PleochroismWeak
Brown to reddish brown
2V angleMeasured: 80° (5)
Calculated: 76°
DispersionRelatively weak
Length fast/slowLength-fast
Ultraviolet fluorescenceNone

Mawbyite is a lead iron zinc arsenate that was named in honor of Maurice Alan Edgar Mawby. It has been approved by the IMA in 1988, and was published just a year after being described by Pring. Mawbyite is a member of the tsumcorite group, the monoclinic dimorph of carminite.[1] It was first believed to be tsumcorite; however, crystal-structure determination showed iron and zinc occupying the same crystallographic site instead,[2] and through the analysis it turned out mawbyite is isostructural with tsumcorite, meaning the two share a similar formula. More accurately, mawbyite appears to be the ferric analogue of the aforementioned mineral.[3] The relationship between helmutwinklerite – which shares a similar formula with tsumcorite's – and mawbyite had been suggested, but due to lack of data it remains unclear. A full crystal-structure analysis is required in order to understand the relationship between their structures.[2]

  1. ^ "Mawbyite". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Taylor, M. R.; M. Bevan, D. J. (1997). "The crystal structure of mawbyite, PbFe2(AsO4)2(OH)2" (PDF). Mineralogical Magazine. 61 (408): 685–691. Bibcode:1997MinM...61..685K. doi:10.1180/minmag.1997.061.408.07. S2CID 53767166.