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Formula: (Ca,Na,☐)2Mn3+3O2(AsO4)2(CO3).3H2O
Valence: (Ca,Na,☐)2Mn3+3O2(As5+O4)2(CO3).3H2O
Hydrated arsenate, manganese-bearing
mineral
Crystal system: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 3.356 calculated
Hardness: 3½
Streak: Brown
Colour: Dark reddish brown to black
Luminescence: No fluorescence under UV
Solubility: Slowly soluble in hydrochloric acid
Environments
Sailaufite is a late-stage hydrothermal product in veins of manganese
ore in rhyolite
(HOM).
Localities
At the type locality, the Fuchs Quarry, Hartkoppe, Sailauf, Aschaffenburg District, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany,
sailaufite has been found associated with hausmannite,
arseniosiderite, kutnohorite,
dolomite, quartz,
calcite and Mn-rich calcite. It occurs
as strongly intergrown, dark red-brown to black tabular crystals, often forming mammillated coatings on
calcite and arseniosiderite
(EJM 15.3.555-564).
Aggregates of sailaufite are typically less than 0.5 mm in size; the mineral occurs as a late-stage hydrothermal
product in veins of manganese ore in
rhyolite
(AM 89.249-253).
In a second occurrence in the lower parts of the quarry, sailaufite is associated with
rhodochrosite, brandtite,
tilasite and dolomite
(CM 42.3.921-945).
Sailaufite from Fuchs Quarry -
Image
At the Starlera Mine, Starlera Valley, Ferrera, Viamala Region, Grisons, Switzerland, sailaufite is associated
with manganlotharmeyerite,
tilasite and calcite in veinlets within
massive braunite ore
(AM 89.249-253).
Sailaufite from the Starlera Mine -
Image
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