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Tvrdyite, Fe2+Fe3+2Al3(PO4)4(OH)5(OH2)4 2H2O, is a new phosphate mineral from the abandoned Huber open pit, in the Krásno ore district near Horní Slavkov, western Bohemia, Czechia. It was found along with Al-rich beraunite, fluorapatite and pharmacosiderite in a cavity of quartz gangue. Tvrdýite forms acicular to fibrous crystals with diameters in the range 0.5-5 pm and lengths up to 300 pm, partly grouped in radiating aggregates up to 3 mm in size. It has a silvery to olive, greyish green colour with pearly lustre, greyish-white streak and is very brittle with an uneven fracture; individual fibres are somewhat flexible. Cleavage on {100} is good; the Mohs hardness is ~3-4. The calculated density is 2.834 g cm-3. Tvrdýite is optically biaxial (-), with α = 1.650(2), β = 1.671(1) and γ = 1.677(1) (white light); 2V = 56(1)°; dispersion: r > v, strong; optical orientation: Z = b, X ≈ a, Y ≈ c; pleochroism: X= greenish blue, Y= yellowish orange, Z= yellowish orange (X >> Y > Z). Tvrdýite is monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 20.564(4), b = 5.101(1), c = 18.883(4) Å, β = 93.68(3)° and V = 1976.7(7) Å3, Z = 4, a:b:c = 4.031:1:3.702. The strongest eight lines in the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are 10.227 (100) (200), 9.400 (6)(002), 7.156 (14) (202̅), 5.120 (7) (400), 3.416 (11) (600), 3.278 (6) (602̅), 2.562 (5) (800) and 2.0511 (3) (1̅0̅,0,0). Chemical analyses by electron microprobe yielded MnO 0.01, ZnO 5.08, FeO 4.31, Fe2O3 21.16, Al2O3 16.71, P2O5 32.64, As2O5 2.56, F 0.53, H2O (calc.) 17.84, O = F -0.22, total 100.62 wt.%. The resulting empirical formula, calculated on the base of 27 anions, obtained from the crystal structure, is Zn0.52Fe2+0.50Fe3+2.21Al2.75(PO4)3.86(AsO4)0.19OH4.60F0.23(OH2)4·2H2O. The ideal formula, Fe2+Fe3+2Al3(PO4)4(OH)5(OH2)4·2H2O, requires FeO 8.75, Fe2O3 19.44, Al2O3 18.62, P2O5 34.56, H2O 18.64, total 100.00 wt.%. The crystal structure of tvrdýite was solved from single-crystal data (synchrotron beamline) and refined to R1 = 0.038 for 2276 reflections with I > 2σ(I). Tvrdýite is isostructural with beraunite, but contains dominant Al in two of the four independent M sites, which are all occupied by Fe in beraunite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new mineral geschieberite (IMA2014-006), K2(UO2)(SO4)2(H2O)2, was found in the Svornost mine, Jáchymov, Czech Republic, where it occurs as a secondary alteration phase after uraninite in association with adolfpateraite and gypsum. Geschieberite forms crystalline aggregates of bright green colour (when thick) composed of multiply intergrown prismatic crystals elongated on [001] typically reaching 0.1-0.2 mm across; observable forms are {010} and {001}. Crystals are translucent to transparent with a vitreous lustre. The mineral is brittle, with perfect cleavage on {100} and an uneven fracture. It has a greenish-white streak and a probable Mohs hardness of ~2. The mineral is slightly soluble in cold H2O. The calculated density is 3.259 g cm-3. The mineral exhibits strong yellowish-green fluorescence under both shortwave and longwave UV radiation. Optically, geschieberite is biaxial (-), with β = 1.596(2) and γ = 1.634(4) (measured at 590 nm), with X = a. Electron-microprobe analyses provided Na2O 0.23, K2O 14.29, MgO 2.05, CaO 0.06, UO3 49.51, SO3 27.74, H2O 6.36 (structure), total 100.24 wt.%, yielding the empirical formula (K1.72Mg0.29Na0.04Ca0.01)S2.06 (U0.98O2)(S0.98O4)2(H2O)2 based on 12 O atoms per formula unit. The Raman spectrum is dominated by the symmetric stretching vibrations of UO22+, SO42- and weaker O-H stretching vibrations. Geschieberite is orthorhombic, Pna21, with a = 13.7778(3), b = 7.2709(4), c = 11.5488(2) Å, V = 1156.92(7) Å3, Z = 4. The eight strongest powder X-ray diffraction lines are [dobs in Å (hkl) Irel]: 6.882 (200) 100, 5.622 (111) 53, 4.589 (211) 12, 4.428 (202) 16, 3.681 (311) 18, 3.403 (013) 12, 3.304 (401,1.13) 15 and 3.006 (122) 17. The structure, refined to R = 0.028 for 1882 I > 3σ(I) reflections, contains [(UO2)(SO4)2(H2O)]2- sheets that are based on the protasite anion topology. Sheets are stacked perpendicular to a. Potassium atoms and one H2O molecule are located between these sheets, providing an interlayer linkage. The remaining H2O molecule is localized within the structural unit, at the free vertex of the uranyl pentagonal bipyramid; this vertex does not link to sulfate tetrahedra. The mineral is named for one of the most important ore veins in Jáchymov - the Geschieber vein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]