Kernowite

Kernowite
Unit cell of liroconite, isostructural with kernowite
Unit cell of kernowite, based on X-ray crystallography of the isostructural mineral liroconite.[1]
General
CategoryArsenate minerals
Formula
(repeating unit)		Cu2Fe(AsO4)(OH)4·4H2O
Crystal systemMonoclinic

Kernowite is a mineral which was first described in 2020. It is named for Cornwall, which in the Cornish language is Kernow.

Description

Kernowite is a complex arsenate mineral with the composition Cu2Fe(AsO4(OH))4·4H2O.[2] It was first described in 2020, and is closely related to liroconite, containing iron in the place of aluminium, making it green rather than blue.[3][4] Its name is derived from Kernow, the name of Cornwall in the Cornish language, after being discovered in a rock mined c.1800 in the Wheal Gorland mine, St Day, Cornwall.[3][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ P. C. Burns; R. K. Eby; F. C. Hawthorne (1991). "Refinement of the structure of liroconite, a heteropolyhedral framework oxysalt mineral". Acta Crystallogr. C. 47 (5): 916–919. doi:10.1107/S0108270190010939.
  2. ^ "Kernowite". mindat.org. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Kernowite: New mineral found on rock mined in Cornwall". BBC News. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Beautiful new emerald-green mineral described from Cornwall". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Kernowite: New mineral species discovered on rock mined in Cornwall 220 years ago". Sky News. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

Further reading