Beltrandoite, a new root-name in the högbomite supergroup: the Mg end-member magnesiobeltrandoite-2N3S

Magnesiobeltrandoite-2N3S, ideally Mg6Al20Fe3+2 O38(OH)2, is a new member of the högbomite supergroup of minerals. It occurs in magnesian chloritites of a metamorphosed layered mafic complex in the Etirol-Levaz continental slice, middle Valtournenche, Aosta Valley, Italy. Magnesiobeltrandoite-2N3S grows in a fine-grained chlorite matrix associated as inclusions to relict pre-Alpine hercynite spinels and dolomite in cm- to dm-long darker boudins, which are cut by corundumþclinochlore ± dolomite veins. It occurs as subhedral to euhedral black crystals (∼50–400mm), dark reddish-brown in thin section. It shows dark brown streak and vitreous lustre. It is brittle, with no cleavage observed and uneven fracture. Mohs hardness≈6–6½. Dcalc = 3.93 g · cm3. It shows no fluorescence under UV radiation and no cathodoluminescence. The mineral is optically uniaxial (–) with an estimated mean refractive index of ca. 1.80. Pleochroism is weak with e = deep reddish brown (along c axis) and v = reddish brown (⊥ c). Absorption is E > O. The Raman spectrum shows a weak and strongly polarized broad OH-characteristic absorption centred at 3364 cm1. Electron microprobe analysis combined with Synchrotron Mössbauer source spectrometry yielded the following empirical formula based on 40 anions per formula unit (pfu) [Al18.36Mg3.96Fe2+2:52Fe3+2:08Ti0.56Cr0.40Zn0.06V3+0.03Mn0.02]S28O38(OH)2. The ideal formula is Mg6Al20Fe3+2O38(OH)2.The eight strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [dobs/A (I) (h k l)]: 2.858 (42) (1 1 0), 2.735 (51) (1 0 7), 2.484 (46) (0 1 8), 2.427 (100) (1 1 5), 1.568 (29) (1 2 8), 1.514 (30) (0 2 12), 1.438 (42) (2 0 13), and 1.429 (72) (2 2 0). The crystal structure of magnesiobeltrandoite-2N3S [P3m1, a = 5.7226(3), c = 23.0231(9)A, V = 652.95(5)A 3] was refined from X-ray single-crystal data to R1 = 0.022; it is isostructural with magnesiohögbomite-2N3S.