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Formula: Na2Cu(SO4)2
Valence: Na2Cu2+(S6+O4)2
Anhydrous sulphate of sodium and copper
Crystal System: Monoclinic
Specific gravity: 2.937 calculated
Streak: White
Colour: Very light-blue or nearly white to sky-blue
Solubility: Water-soluble; sensitive to moisture and transforms into kröhnkite within one week when exposed to
open air at 87% relative humidity and 25°C
(HOM).
Environments
Saranchinaite was approved in 2015 and to date (October 2026) has been reported only from the Tolbachik
Volcanic field.
Localities
At the type locality, Naboko cinder cone, Great Fissure eruption, Tolbachik Volcanic field, Milkovsky District,
Kamchatka Krai, Russia, saranchinaite was found in sublimates of the Saranchinaitovaya fumarole.
During thermal expansion kröhnkite retains its strongly anisotropic
character up to its full dehydration and the formation of saranchinaite at about 200°C, which then
transforms back into kröhnkite after exposure to open air. The thermal
expansion of saranchinaite is more complex than that of
kröhnkite. Saranchinaite is stable up to 475°C with subsequent
decomposition into tenorite,
thénardite and unidentified phases
(MM 82.2.257–274).
Associated minerals include euchlorine,
anhydrite, itelmenite,
hermannjahnite,
chalcocyanite,
thénardite, aphthitalite
and hematite
(HOM).
Saranchinaite from the Naboko cinder cone -
Image
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