Reinerite is a rare arsenite (arsenate(III)) mineral with chemical formula Zn3(AsO3)2.[3][4] It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system.

Reinerite
General
Categoryarsenite
Formula
(repeating unit)
Zn3(AsO3)2
IMA symbolRnr[1]
Strunz classification4.JA.10
Crystal systemOrthorhombic
Crystal classDipyramidal (mmm)
H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m)
Space groupPbam (no. 55)
Unit cella = 6.092 Å, b = 14.407 Å
c = 7.811 Å; Z = 4
V = 685.55
a:b:c = 0.423 : 1 : 0.542
Identification
ColorSky blue, yellow green
Crystal habitRough striated pseudohexagonal crystals
CleavageGood on {110}, {011} and {111}
Mohs scale hardness5 - 5.5
LusterVitreous to adamantine
DiaphaneityTransparent
Specific gravity4.27
Optical propertiesBiaxial (-)
Refractive indexnα = 1.740 nβ = 1.790 nγ = 1.820
BirefringenceMaximum δ = 0.080
Other characteristicsRelief: very high
References[2][3][4][5]

Physical properties

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Reinerite is most commonly found as a sky blue colored mineral, however, it may also be a light yellowish green color. Reinerite has a relative hardness of 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs Scale which is equivalent to that of a knife blade and or shard of glass. It has a density of 4.27 g/cm3,[2] and it exhibits a nonmetallic luster that may be described as glassy or vitreous.[6]

Environment

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Reinerite develops in dolomite-hosted locations. It is known especially from Namibia, Africa, within the mines of Tsumeb. At the Tsumeb location, Reinerite develops within the polymetallic lead-zinc-copper deposit, 800 m (2,600 ft) below the surface, in the second oxidation zone.[5] It occurs in association with chalcocite, bornite, willemite, smithsonite, hydrozincite, hemimorphite, adamite, olivenite and gebhardite.[3]

History

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Reinerite was first described in 1958 for an occurrence in the Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Namibia and named for senior chemist Willy Reiner (1895–1965) of Tsumeb Corporation, who analyzed this mineral.[2][4]

References

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  1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. ^ a b c Webmineral data
  3. ^ a b c Handbook of Mineralogy
  4. ^ a b c Mindat.org
  5. ^ a b American Mineralogist
  6. ^ Lutgens, Frederick, and Edward Tarbuck. Essentials of Geology. 10th. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. 42. Print.