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Formula: (Pb☐)(W1.33Fe3+0.67)O6(H2O)
Anhydrous tungstate
Crystal System: Isometric
Specific gravity: 6.04 measured, 7.47 calculated
Hardness: 4½ to 5
Streak: white, yellow
Colour: Red to brownish red, also yellow and colourless
Solubility: Soluble in hot, concentrated H3PO4, but not in other mineral acids
Magnetism: Weakly magnetic
Environments
The mineral was originally named 'jixianite', and renamed hydroplumboelsmoreite in 2021.
Localities
At the type locality, the Yanhe Mine, Ji county, Tianjin, China, hydroplumboelsmoreite (initially named
jixianite) was discovered in the oxidised section of a high-temperature hydrothermal
tungsten-bearing
lead-quartz vein-type deposit.
The tungsten mineralisation was related closely to magmatic activity
and occurs in the inner contact zone of the rock. The metallogenic rock is mainly
intermediate-felsic rock, and the ore-bearing surrounding rocks
are quartz monzonite and
medium to fine grained granite. The
primary minerals in the oxidised zone include
quartz, pyrite,
ferberite, cassiterite,
chalcopyrite, scheelite,
acanthite, silver and
copper. The
secondary minerals found nearby include
muscovite, bismutite,
raspite, wulfenite,
malachite, covellite,
hydroplumboelsmoreite, and a potentially new mineral with the suggested name of 'hydroelsmoreite'.
Hydroplumboelsmoreite is an uncommon mineral mostly occurring as microcrystalline to
cryptocrystalline aggregates, with an earthy, honeycombed, or crusty appearance, and the rare single crystals
are tiny, about 160 microns, exhibiting the characteristics of a
hypogene mineral. It is commonly intergrown with
raspite and ‘hydroelsmoreite’, and may be formed as a
secondary mineral after
scheelite, ferberite and
wulfenite
(MM 85.6.890-900, AM 64.1330 (as jixianite)).
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