gsminmag Mineralogical Magazine Mineralogical Magazine 0026-461X Mineralogical Society 10.1180/minmag.1990.054.377.14 Crystal Structures The Crystal Structure of Kamchatkite, a New Naturally Occurring Oxychloride Sulphate of Potassium and Copper Varaksina T. V. Fundamensky V. S. Filatov S.K. Department of Crystallography, Leningrad State University, USSR, Vergasova L. P. Institute of Volcanology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 12 1990 54 377 613 616 6 10 1989 7 3 1990 Copyright © 1990, The Mineralogical Society 1990 Abstract

The crystal structure of the new mineral kamchatkite, a= 9.741(5), b= 12.858(6), c=7.001(3)Å, space group Pna21, Z = 4, has been determined through direct methods using 1430 intensities and refined to a final discrepancy index R = 0.055. It contains (SO4) tetrahedra and Cu octahedra interconnected by oxygen atoms to form an electrostatically neutral three-dimensional arrangement of formula Cu3O[SO4]2 which contains channels parallel to [001]. The channels are not empty but house KCl molecules.

 Keywords kamchatkite crystal structure Kamchatka USSR