Category Chloride mineral Crystal system Orthorhombic | Formula(repeating unit) CuCl2(NH3)2 Space group Cmcm | |
Crystal class Dipyramidal (mmm)H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) Unit cell a = 7.79, b = 10.64c = 5.84 [Å] (approximated) |
Ammineite is the first recognized mineral containing ammine groups. Its formula is [CuCl2(NH3)2]. The mineral is chemically pure. It was found in a guano deposit in Chile. At the same site other ammine-containing minerals were later found:
Contents
Crystal structure
The characteristic features of the structure of ammineite are:
Associated minerals
Ammineite coexists with atacamite, darapskite, halite and salammoniac.
Origin
Ammineite is supposed to be a result of an interaction of an earlier copper mineral, likely from a plutonic rock, with ammonia in guano. Ammoniamay be produced in decomposition of compounds like urea or uric adic.
References
Ammineite Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA