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Formula: Ca(Cu,Zn)4(SO4)2(OH)6.3H2O
Hydrated sulphate containing hydroxyl, devilline group
Specific gravity: 3.07
Hardness: 2
Streak: White or pale blue
Colour: Dark sky-blue to medium sky-blue; greenish blue in transmitted light.
Solubility: Readily soluble in acids
Environments:
Serpierite is a secondary mineral in the oxidised zone of
copper-zinc bearing hydrothermal mineral deposits, commonly
a post-mine product. Associated minerals include
smithsonite, devilline,
posnjakite, ktenasite,
linarite, langite,
brochantite, wroewolfeite,
namuwite, schulenbergite,
hydrozincite, malachite and
gypsum (HOM). It is found in altered smelter slags and oxidised sulphide
veins
(Webmin).
Localities
At Kintore, Broken Hill, Yancowinna county, New South Wales, Australia, serpierite occurs commonly with
schulenbergite and brochantite,
and less commonly with antlerite, ktenasite
and linarite. The host rock is often quartz
containing patches of sphalerite, cuprite
or native copper, but serpierite has also been found on fractures in
gneiss
(AJM 3.1.44-45).
At the Wheal Fortune mine, Northampton, Northampton Shire, Western Australia, serpierite forms crusts on specimens in
association with brochantite and
hydrozincite
(AJM 18.1.45).
At Neudorf, Harzgerode mining district, Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, serpierite occurs on the dumps overgrown by
gypsum and aragonite
(Minrec 43.1.41).
At the type Locality, the Kamariza mines, Agios Konstantinos, Lavrion Mining District, Lavreotiki, East Attica, Attica, Greece,
serpierite is a secondary mineral in the oxidised zone of
copper-zinc bearing hydrothermal mineral deposits, associated
with smithsonite
(Mindat, Dana).
At Akchagyl, Kazakhstan, serpierite has been found with linarite and
cyanotrichite
(Dana ).
At Red Gill Mine, Roughton Gill, Caldbeck, Allerdale, Cumbria, England, UK, serpierite is extremely rare, but it has
been found as micaceous aggregates on cerussite, identified by XRD. It is
probably a dump formed mineral
(JRS 11.42).
At the Roughton Gill Mine, Roughton Gill, Caldbeck, Allerdale, Cumbria, England, UK, serpierite is very rare, but has
been found as small radiating sprays of crystals up to 1 mm long, formed in cavities and on fractures in
quartz, chalcopyrite and
sphalerite with associated hemimorphite
and smithsonite
(JRS 14.18).
At the Tynebottom mine, Alston Moor, Eden, Cumbria, England, UK, serpierite and
devilline are usually highly intergrown and difficult to separate. The minerals
occur in about 30% of the copper zone patches, sometimes surrounded by brochantite
(JRS 10.6).
At Brownley Hill mine, Alston Moor, Eden, Cumbria, England, UK, serpierite occurs with
harmotome, gypsum and rarely with
brochantite in fractures in the quartz
lining of a large cavity. The crystals appear to have been produced by post-mining oxidation of
chalcopyrite
(Minrec 31.3.247).
At the Gallagher and Manila mining claims, near Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, USA, serpierite occurs sparingly
associated with brochantite and gypsum
on the mine dumps. It is also seen with malachite and
smithsonite, possibly as a postmining alteration product
(R&M 90-4.345).
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