Aleutite, ideally [Cu5O2](AsO4)(VO4)·(Cu0.5□0.5)Cl, was found in the Yadovitaya fumarole of the Second scoria cone of the Great Fissure Tolbachik eruption, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Aleutite occurs as individual crystals in the masses of polycrystalline anhydrite. Aleutite is monoclinic, C2/m, a = 18.090(2) Å, b = 6.2284(6) Å, c = 8.2465(9) Å, β = 90.597(2)°, V = 929.1(2) Å3 and Z = 4 (from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data). The empirical formula calculated on the basis of (As + V+Mo + Fe3+) = 2 atoms per formula unit is Сu5.40Zn0.05Ca0.01As1.09V0.84Mo0.04Fe0.03K0.05Pb0.02Rb0.01Cs0.01O9.97Cl1.07. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined to an agreement index R1 = 0.066. Aleutite has a new structure type. Aleutite is unique amongst natural and synthetic copper vanadates and arsenates, as it has As5+ and V5+ cations ordered over two tetrahedral sites. The topology of oxocentred bands in aleutite is novel and has not been described before in minerals and synthetic materials. The structural architecture of the band in aleutite can be derived from a kagome network and represents a one-dimensional slice from it. In addition, aleutite is an interesting and complex example of a natural salt-inclusion phase.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)847-853
JournalMineralogical Magazine
Volume83
Issue number6
Early online date24 Jun 2019
StateE-pub ahead of print - 24 Jun 2019

    Research areas

  • aleutite, new minerals, COPPER, vanadates, arsenates, kagome nets, salt-inclusion solids, Tolbachik volcano

ID: 45921971