Crystal system Orthorhombic | Formula(repeating unit) []Al6BAs3O15 Space group Pbcm | |
Crystal class Dipyramidal (mmm)H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) Unit cell a = 47.00 Å, b = 11.83 Åc = 20.24 Å (approximated) | ||
Szklaryite is an extremely rare mineral with the formula []Al6BAs33+O15. It is essentially vacant ("[]"), arsenic-dominant member of dumortierite supergroup, giving a name of szklaryite group. It is one of three quite recently found minerals of this group, the other two being nioboholtite and titanoholtite, all coming from the Szklary village near Ząbkowice Śląskie in Poland. They occur in a unique pegmatite of probable anatectic origin.
Occurrence and association
Szklaryite was detected as a tiny patch ca. 2 μm in size, in arsenic- and antimony-bearing dumortierite. Such a small size precluded determination of many of its properties. Szklaryite association is very rich and unique: nioboholtite, titanoholtite, fersmite, holtite, alluaudite, native antimony, manganese-bearing minerals of the apatite group (F-, OH- and Cl-rich apatite), native arsenic, beusite, native bismuth, cheralite, chrysoberyl, columbite-(Fe), columbite-(Mn), ernienickelite, native gold, gorceixite, hollandite, microcline, mitridatite, monazite-(Ce), muscovite, natrophilite, nontronite, various representatives of the betafite, microlite and pyrochlore groups; paradocrasite, phosphohedyphane, plumbogummite, pollucite, purpurite, quartz, ranciéite, romanèchite, saponite, spessartine, stibarsen, stibiocolumbite, stibiotantalite, tantalite-(Mn), thorutite, uraninite, xenotime-(Y), and zircon.