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Formula: K6Fe24S26Cl
Sulphide
Crystal System: Tetragonal
Specific gravity: 3.70 measured, 3.65 calculated
Hardness: 4
Streak: Black
Colour: Brown, black
Environments
Pegmatites
Hydrothermal environments
Localities
The type locality is the Koashva Open Pit, Koashva Mountain, Khibiny Massif, Murmansk Oblast, Russia. This is an
apatite deposit that works part of an alkaline massif with
ultra-agpaitic
pegmatites and
urtite, as well as
foidolites and
apatite-nepheline rocks with
aegirine-microcline,
aegirine-nepheline-microcline,
and titanite-aegirine-nepheline
veins, and olivine metamorphosed
nephelinite dykes
(Mindat).
Chlorbartonite occurs in a
microcline–pectolite–sodalite–aegirine
hydrothermal vein. The host rocks are massive urtite. Lens-shaped bodies
of apatite–titanite rock are
dominant. The vein containing chlorbartonite is located near the contact between
apatite–nepheline rocks and
urtite. The
chlorbartonite occurs as inclusions within sodalite and
natrolite.
The marginal zone consists of microcline,
nepheline, sodalite
and dark red villiaumite. The
villiaumite contains inclusions of
lomonosovite, pectolite,
aegirine, arfvedsonite,
thermonatrite and chkalovite.
Small crystals of lisitsynite also are present.
The intermediate zone is
composed of snow-white, radiating crystals of pectolite with interstitial
villiaumite.
The border between the zones is marked by extremely large
lenses of dark red villiaumite also containing white aggregates of
acicular pectolite, dark grey spherulites of
lomonosovite, light pink or light green crystals of
sodalite, annite,
pseudomorphs of nefedovite
together with sidorenkite and
lorenzenite after an unknown mineral,
nacaphite, vitusite-(Ce),
colourless crystals of chkalovite, light green
microcline, yellowish green
fluorcaphite, galena,
cobaltite, dark brown sphalerite,
dark green fibrous nodules of aegirine, golden brown
astrophyllite and ice-like translucent grains of
natrite.
When exposed to weathering, the natrite grains become covered with a crust
of fine-grained thermonatrite and
trona. Small crystals of rasvumite,
black-brown grains of chlorbartonite, green burbankite,
mosandrite-(Ce), and grains of
djerfisherite and sphalerite
occur as inclusions within light pink sodalite and light grey
natrolite. Clusters of crystals of
murunskite and well-formed cubic crystals of
loparite-(Ce) occur at borders between
villiaumite and microcline,
sodalite and lomonosovite.
Apple-green grains and well-formed crystals of fluorcaphite and also
grains of light brown sphalerite are common within the large blocks of
villiaumite.
The core zone of the vein is formed of nodules of acicular aegirine with
inclusions of lamprophyllite and
lomonosovite, and cemented by
villiaumite. Vitusite-(Ce),
nacaphite, thorosteenstrupine-(Ce),
natrophosphate, galena,
mackinawite, djerfisherite
and lemmleinite-K have also been observed in this zone.
Chlorbartonite is a low-temperature hydrothermal mineral; it crystallised together with
djerfisherite, rasvumite,
natrolite and sodalite during
the latest stages of hydrothermal activity
(CM 41.503-511).
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