Kampfite

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Formula: Ba₁₂(Si₁₁Al₅)O₃₁(CO₃)₈Cl₅
Phyllosilicate (sheet silicate), barium-bearing mineral
Crystal system: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 3.45 calculated
Hardness: 3
Streak: White
Colour: Light blue-grey
Luminescence: Not fluorescent
Environments

Metamorphic environments

Localities

At Esquire No. 7 claim, Big Creek, Big Creek-Rush Creek Mining District, Fresno County, California, USA, rare grains of kampfite have been identified. The Big Creek site is the type locality for alforsite, bigcreekite and walstromite, and is known for a number of rare Ba-bearing minerals including anandite, bazirite, benitoite, celsian, gillespite, fresnoite, macdonaldite, muirite, pellyite, titantaramellite and verplanckite (CM 39.4.1053-1058).
Kampfite from Big Creek - Image

At the type locality, Esquire No. 1 claim, Rush Creek, Big Creek-Rush Creek Mining District, Fresno County, California, USA, kampfite occurs as irregular masses up to 1 cm across enclosed in a quartz–sanbornite outcrop. Associated minerals include celsian, fresnoite, macdonaldite, pyrrhotite, titantaramellite, traskite and witherite. Small inclusions of celsian and witherite have been identified within kampfite.
The Big Creek and Rush Creek deposits consist of gneissic rocks composed of variable amounts of sanbornite and quartz with minor amounts of diopside, pyrrhotite and various Ba-bearing minerals. The mineral assemblages within the rocks are most likely related to the initial bulk chemical composition of sediments prior to metamorphism. It is believed that kampfite formed prior to both sanbornite and quartz, but the lack of Fe in the chemical formula suggests that it formed later than titantaramellite and traskite (CM 39.4.1053-1058).
Kampfite from Rush Creek - Image

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