Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2018
Arhbarite was described in 1982 as a new copper arsenate, Cu2(OH)AsO4·6H2O, from the Arhbar mine, Morocco. Due to the very small grain size no crystallographic data other than the X-ray powder diffraction data could be given. Reinvestigation of the type material and of new finds from the El Guanaco mine, Chile, is based on Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder data, electron microprobe investigations, optical studies as well as infrared and Raman spectra. The main results are: (1) arhbarite has the ideal formula Cu2Mg(AsO4)(OH)3 with magnesium oxide as an additional constituent and (2) arhbarite is isotypic with gilmarite, Cu3(AsO4)(OH)3. Arhbarite is triclinic, space group P1 (no. 1), unit-cell parameters (type material; refined from powder data) a= 5.315(4), b= 5.978(6), c= 5.030(6)Å, α = 113.58(6), β = 97.14(7), γ = 89.30(8)°, V= 145.2(1)Å3, Z= 1. Microprobe analyses of the type material gave MgO 10.20, CuO 47.46, NiO 0.20, CoO 0.24, As2O5 33.85, SiO2 0.10, H2O 7.58 (calc.), total 99.63 wt.%. The empirical formula is Cu1.98(Mg0.88Cu0.09Ni0.01Co0.01)S0.99(AsO4)1.02(OH)2.92, based on 7 O atoms. The Chilean arhbarite shows a slightly higher Cu content than the type material; it has the formula Cu1.99(Mg0.73Cu0.25Zn0.01)∑0.99[(AsO4)1.01(SiO4)0.01]∑1.02(OH)2.92. The formal redefinition of arhbarite has been approved by the CNMMN of the IMA.