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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="archive">gsminmag</journal-id>
<journal-title>Mineralogical Magazine</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="full">Mineralogical Magazine</abbrev-journal-title>
<issn pub-type="ppub">0026-461X</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>Mineralogical Society</publisher-name>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.1180/minmag.1988.052.367.11</article-id>
<article-categories>
<subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
<subject>Mineralogy</subject>
</subj-group>
</article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>Sieleckiite, a New Copper Aluminium Phosphate from Mt Oxide, Queensland, Australia</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname>Birch</surname>
<given-names>W. D.</given-names>
</name>
<aff>Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Museum of Victoria, 285 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia</aff></contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname>Pring</surname>
<given-names>A.</given-names>
</name>
<aff>Department of Mineralogy, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia</aff></contrib></contrib-group>
<pub-date pub-type="ppub">
<month>9</month>
<year>1988</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>52</volume>
<issue>367</issue>
<fpage>515</fpage>
<lpage>518</lpage>
<history>
<date date-type="received">
<day>24</day>
<month>9</month>
<year>1987</year>
</date>
<date date-type="rev-recd">
<day>24</day>
<month>11</month>
<year>1987</year>
</date></history>
<copyright-statement>Copyright &#x00A9; 1988, The Mineralogical Society</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>1988</copyright-year>
<abstract>
<title>Abstract</title>
<p>Sieleckiite is a new copper aluminium phosphate discovered at the Mt Oxide Copper Mine, 150 km north of Mt Isa, Queensland, Australia. It occurs with variscite, turquoise, libethenite and minor pseudomalachite in a fracture in a boulder of quartzite and shale. Sieleckiite forms deep sky blue to royal blue spheres up to 0.5 mm in diameter, made up of fibrous radiating crystals between 20 and 100 &#x00B5;m long and 1 to 2 &#x00B5;m wide. The mineral has a very pale blue streak and a pearly lustre on uneven fracture surfaces. Hardness is about 3 and the measured density is 3.02 g cm<sup>&#x2212;3</sup>. The average of nine electron microprobe analyses gave CuO 32.39, Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> 26.57, P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> 19.42%. Separate analyses gave H<sub>2</sub>O 18.1, CO<sub>2</sub> 1.6% (carbonate impurity). These data gave an empirical formula of Cu<sub>3.1</sub>Al<sub>4.0</sub>(PO4)<sub>2.1</sub>(OH)<sub>12</sub>.1.7H<sub>2</sub>O, calculated on the basis of 22 oxygen atoms. The simplified formula is Cu<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>4.0</sub>(PO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2.1</sub>(OH)<sub>12</sub>.2H<sub>2</sub>O. The strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are &#x007B;<italic>d(I)(hkl)</italic>&#x007D;; 9.12(50)(100), 5.06(100)(101), 3.852(100)(111), 3.276(30)(<inline-formula><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mo>&#x00AF;</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mn>20</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula>), 2.827(50)(<inline-formula><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mo>&#x00AF;</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mn>02</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula>,102), 2.460(50)(<inline-formula><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mn>3</mml:mn><mml:mo>&#x00AF;</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mn>21</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula>). These data were indexed on a triclinic cell with <italic>a</italic> 9.41(8), <italic>b</italic> 7.56(5), <italic>c</italic> 5.95(6) &#x00C5;, <italic>&#x03B1;</italic> 90.25(12)&#x00B0; <italic>&#x03B2;</italic> 91.27(12)&#x00B0; <italic>&#x03B3;</italic> 104.02(7)&#x00B0; and a volume of 410.8(5) &#x00C5;<sup>3</sup>. For Z = 1, the calculated density is 2.94 g cm<sup>&#x2212;3</sup>. Optical properties could not be determined in full; the refractive indices are between 1.63 and 1.66, pleochroism is very weak from colourless to very pale blue.</p>
<p>The mineral is named for the discoverer, Robert Sielecki (1958- ). Type specimens are preserved at the Museum of Victoria and the South Australian Museum. Sieleckiite was approved by the IMA Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names prior to publication.</p></abstract>
<kwd-group>
<title>Keywords</title>
<kwd>sieleckiite</kwd>
<kwd>new mineral</kwd>
<kwd>copper aluminium phosphate</kwd>
<kwd>Mt Oxide, Queensland, Australia</kwd>
</kwd-group>
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