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Formula: K2Cu(SO4)Cl2
Anhydrous sulphate
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 2.67 measured on artificial crystals
Hardness: 2½
Colour: Bright blue
Solubility: Soluble in water
Environments
Localities
At the type locality, Mount Vesuvius, Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples, Campania, Italy, chlorothionite occurs
as bright blue crystalline incrustations in active volcanic fumaroles
(Mindat).
At the Glavnaya Tenoritovaya fumarole, Second scoria cone, Northern Breakthrough, Great Fissure eruption,
Tolbachik volcano, Milkovsky District, Kamchatka Krai, Russia,
chrysothallite seems to be a product of interactions involving
high-temperature sublimate minerals, fumarolic gas and atmospheric water vapour at temperatures not higher than
150°C. It is associated with belloite,
avdoninite, chlorothionite,
sanguite, eriochalcite,
mitscherlichite, sylvite,
carnallite and kainite
(MM 79.2.365–376).
Other associates of chlorothionite include flinteite
(EJM 27.4.581-588), mellizinkalite
(EJM 27.2.247–253), kaliochalcite (EJM 26.4.597–604),
feodosiyite (AM 104.1867) and
romanorlovite
(AM 102.1569).
At the Pyatno fumarole, Second scoria cone, Northern Breakthrough, Great Fissure eruption, Tolbachik volcano,
Milkovsky District, Kamchatka Krai, Russia, chrysothallite seems
to be a product of interactions involving high-temperature sublimate minerals, fumarolic gas and atmospheric water
vapour at temperatures not higher than 150°C. It is associated with
belloite, avdoninite,
chlorothionite, eriochalcite,
atacamite, halite,
kröhnkite, natrochalcite,
gypsum and antlerite
(MM 79.2.365–376).
At the Yadovitaya fumarole, Second scoria cone, Northern Breakthrough, Great Fissure eruption, Tolbachik Volcanic
field, Milkovsky District, Kamchatka Krai, Russia,
calciolangbeinite occurs in sublimates associated with
langbeinite, piypite,
hematite, rutile,
pseudobrookite,
orthoclase, lyonsite,
lammerite, cyanochroite
and chlorothionite
(MM 76.3.673–682).
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