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Formula: Mn3B7O13Cl
Anhydrous megaborate, boracite group,
manganese-bearing mineral
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 3.49 measured, 3.48 calculated
Hardness: 7
Streak: White
Colour: Colourless to deep purple, darkens with exposure to sunlight
Solubility: Insoluble in water
Environments
Chambersite occurs in brine residues from extraction wells in salt domes. Associated minerals include
halite, anhydrite and
gypsum
(HOM).
Localities
At Penobsquis, Cardwell Parish, Kings county, New Brunswick, Canada, chambersite was found in only one sample in a
drill core from the marine evaporite deposit. It was found in orange halite
associated with hydroboracite,
hilgardite, volkovskite,
szaibélyite, anhydrite, a
mica group mineral, magnesite
and quartz. It occurs as 0.5 to 1.5 mm, euhedral, light blue, flattened
tetrahedra
(CM 43.1469-1487).
At the type locality, Storage Well No. 1, Barbers Hill Salt Dome, Mont Belvieu, Chambers County, Texas, USA,
chambersite is present in brine returns from the well, probably originating in the main salt mass at a depth
between 2,32O and 2,72O feet below sea level. Associated minerals include halite,
anhydrite and gypsum.
The salt mass is known to intrude sediments ranging in age from Pleistocene (2.58 million to 11,700 years ago) to Late
Cretaceous (100.5 to 66 million years ago), and it is capped by porous rock consisting of
limestone, gypsum and
anhydrite. Open spaces contain varying amounts of crystalline
sulphur, pyrite and
calcite.
Chambersite occurs in subhedral to euhedral crystals ranging from less than 1 mm to 1.2 cm on an edge
(AM 47.665-671).
Chambersite from the Barbers Hill Salt Dome -
Image
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