ZHANGHUIFENITE

Na3Mn2+4Mg2Al(PO4)6

Crystal System

Monoclinic

Crystal Class

Prismatic

Space Group

P21/n

Point Group

2/m

Structure & Data

Crystal Structure

Isostructural with bobfergusonite of alluaudite SG; structure contains 6 octahedral M (= Mn, Fe, Mg, Al) sites & 5 X (= Na, Mn, Ca) sites with CN btw 6 & 8; 6 M octahedra share edges to form 2 types of kinked chains extending along [101] with 1 consisting of M1-M4-M5 & other M2-M3-M6; these chains are joined by PO4 tetrahedra to form sheets || to (010), which are linked together thru corner-sharing btw PO4 tetrahedra & MO6 octahedra in adjacent sheets, leaving open channels || to a, & large X cations are situated; zhanghuifenite diff from bobfergusonite; M4 & M5 sites in former are mainly occupied by Mg, but by Fe2+ & Fe3+, resp, in latter; other is that X2-X5 sites in zhanghuifenite are all nearly or fully occupied with Na, resulting in 3 Na apfu in ideal formula, but X4 & X5 are ½ occupied in bonfergusonite, giving rise to 2 Na apfu.

Cell Data

a=12.8926Å, b=12.4658Å, c=10.9178Å, ß=97.9200o, Z=4

Geology & Identification

Geologic Occurrence

ZHANGHUIFENITEZHANGHUIFENITE

Habit

Blocky or tabular crystals

Twinning

Relationships

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER MINERALS

Isostructural with bobfergusonite

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