Xocomecatlite
Xocomecatlite is a rare tellurate mineral with formula: Cu3(TeO4)(OH)4. It is an orthorhombic
mineral which occurs as aggregates or spherules of green needlelike crystals.
It was first described in 1975 for an occurrence in the Oriental mine near Moctezuma, Sonora,
Mexico. It has also been reported from the Centennial Eureka mine in the Tintic District, Juab
County, Utah and the Emerald mine of the Tombstone District, Cochise County, Arizona in the
United States. The name is derived from xocomecatl, the Nahuatl word for "bunches of grapes",
and alludes to the mineral's appearance as a set of green spherules. It occurs in the oxidized
zone of gold-tellurium veins in altered rhyolite. It occurs associated with other rare tellurate
minerals: parakhinite, dugganite, tlapallite, mcalpineite, leisingite, jensenite; the sulfate–
phosphate minerals: hinsdalite–svanbergite; and the oxide goethite.[3][4]
References
1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols" ([Link]
gm.2021.43) . Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W (h
ttps://[Link]/abs/2021MinM...85..291W) . doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 (htt
ps://[Link]/10.1180%2Fmgm.2021.43) . S2CID 235729616 ([Link]
rg/CorpusID:235729616) .
2. Xocomecatlite Mineral Data on Webmineral ([Link]
tml)
3. Handbook of Mineralogy ([Link]
4. [Link] ([Link]
This article about a specific sulfate mineral is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (ht
tps://[Link]/w/[Link]?title=Xocomecatlite&action=edit).
Xocomecatlite
Xocomecatlite (green) in quartz matrix,
collected from Trixie Mine, East Tintic District,
East Tintic Mountains, Utah, United States
General
Category Tellurate mineral
Formula Cu3(TeO4)(OH)4
(repeating unit)
IMA symbol Xco[1]
Strunz classification [Link].50
Crystal system Orthorhombic
Unknown space
group
Unit cell a = 12.14 Å, b =
14.31 Å
c = 11.66 Å; Z = 12
Identification
Formula mass 450.26 g/mol
Color Green, emerald green
Crystal habit Aggregates of radial
to spherulitic or
botryoidal acicular
crystals
Tenacity Brittle
Mohs scale hardness 4
Streak light green
Diaphaneity Translucent
Specific gravity 4.65
Density 4.42 g/cm3
Optical properties Biaxial (−)
Refractive index nα = 1.775 nβ = 1.900
nγ = 1.920
Birefringence δ = 0.145
Pleochroism Rich bluish greens
2V angle Measured: 41°
[2][3][4]
References
