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Formula: Pb(Te6+O4)
Tellurate
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 7.579 calculated
Hardness: 3½
Streak: White
Colour: Colourless to very pale yellow
Environments
Sedimentary environments
Hydrothermal environments
Murphyite is a new mineral, approved in 2022 and to date (August 2023) reported only from the type locality.
Localities
At the type locality, the Grand Central mine, Contention-Grand Central Mine group, Tombstone Mining District,
Cochise county, Arizona, USA, the mine exploits a silver -
gold - lead -
copper - zinc deposit in which the ore,
consisting principally of oxidised silver- and
gold- bearing galena, occurs in faulted
and fractured portions of a large dike hosted by limestone.
Minerals associated with murphyite here include chlorargyrite,
emmonsite, ottoite,
stolzite, scheelite,
schieffelinite, quartz and
jarosite.
Murphyite occurs as bladed or prismatic, colourless to very pale yellow crystals, on top of a
quartz matrix. Individual crystals of murphyite are up to 0.20 x 0.05
x 0.05 mm3 in size. Twinning is common, forming fish-tail twins
(CJMP 61.2.401-409).
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