May 10 2013
Vlodavetsite is a tetragonal-dipyramidal mineral that contains aluminum, chlorine, fluorine, calcium, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur. Vlodavetsite was named after Vladimir Ivanovich Vlodavets (1893–1993), a volcanologist who founded the Kamchatka volcanological station.
Properties of Vlodavetsite
The following are the key properties of Vlodavetsite:
- Cell Data
- Space group: I4/m
- a = 6.870(1)
- c = 13.342(2)
- Z = 2
- Crystal Data
- Tetragonal
- Point group: 4/m
- Crystals square to rectangular, tabular to scaly, to 0.3 mm, showing {001}, {100}; commonly fine-grained massive
- X-ray powder pattern: 3.431 (100), 3.335 (80), 6.67 (60), 3.922 (50), 3.729 (40), 3.052 (40), 2.483 (40)
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
| SO3 |
35.97 |
36.00 |
| CaO |
25.11 |
25.22 |
| H2O |
16.10 |
16.20 |
| Al2O3 |
12.37 |
11.46 |
| F |
8.1 |
8.54 |
| Cl |
6.08 |
7.97 |
| -O = (F, Cl)2 |
4.78 |
5.39 |
| Total |
98.95 |
100.00 |
- Optical Properties
- Optical class: Uniaxial (+)
- ω = 1.509(2)
- ε = 1.526(3)
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density)=2.37 gm/cm3
note: Specific gravity of vlodavetsite = 2.35 gm/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEVlodavetsite = 3.83 barns/electron
U=PEVlodavetsite x ρelectron density= 9.07 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.0015346324
Boson index = 0.9984653676 |
Radioactivity
|
GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Vlodavetsite is not radioactive |
How to Identify Vlodavetsite
Vlodavetsite can be identified in the field by its colorless or yellow white variations. The appearance of this mineral is transparent. It is a transparent mineral with a glassy lustre, a white streak, and cleavages. The fractures on the surface are brittle. The density of vlodavetsite is 2.35 gm/cm3.
Global Distribution
Vlodavetsite is widely distributed in the following locations:
- Tolbachik fissure volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
- Italy, Sicily, La Fossa crater
Occurrence of Vlodavetsite and Useful Mineral Association
It is often associated with minerals such as bischofite, spinel, gypsum, sellaite, and hydrophilite. It is a product of low-temperature hydration of minerals on the fracture walls of volcanic fumaroles.
References