May 9 2013
Pinalite is named after Pinal Co, Arizona, where it was discovered first. It was discovered in the year 1988.
Properties of Pinalite
The key physical properties of Pinalite are as below:
- Cell Data
- Space group: Amam
- a = 11.073(2)
- b=13.067 (3)
- c=5.617 (1)
- Z = 4
- Crystal Data
- Orthorhombic
- Point group: 2/m 2/m 2/m
- Crystals – as bladed acicular crystals, up to 0.5 mm elongated along [001], flattened on {010}, terminated by {h01}; in slightly divergent sprays.
- Twinning – About [010], yielding penetration twins by rotation.
- X-ray powder pattern: Mammoth St Antony Mine, Arizona, USA; 2.926 (10), 3.778 (9), 1.642 (5), 3.284 (4), 2.814 (4), 6.52 (3), 2.770 (3)
- Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
| WO3 |
23.3 |
24.24 |
| PbO |
70.7 |
70.02 |
| Cl |
7.1 |
7.41 |
| -O = Cl2 |
1.6 |
1.67 |
- Optical Properties
- Transparent
- Optical class- Biaxial
- Lustre - adamantine
- Estimated Properties
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density)= 6.44 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of Pinalite = 7.82 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PEPinalite = 1463.24 barns/electron
U=PEPinalite x ρelectron density= 9428.25 barns/cm3 |
| Fermion index |
Fermion index = 0.17
Boson index = 0.83 |
Radioactivity
|
GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Pinalite is not radioactive |
How to Identify Pinalite
Pinalite appears as a yellow mineral on field. It exhibits an adamantine lustre. It is brittle by nature and its density is 7.78.
Global Distribution
Pinalite is widely distributed in the following locations:
- USA – Mammoth-St, Antony mine, Tiger, Pinal Co in Arizona.
Occurrence of Pinalite and Useful Mineral Association
Pinalite occurs as a late stage secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of base metal deposit. It is commonly associated with cerussite, caledonite, connellite, chromian leadhillite, quartz, iranite and murdochite.
References