Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T16:50:19.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Shumwayite, [(UO2)(SO4)(H2O)2]2·H2O, a new uranyl sulfate mineral from Red Canyon, San Juan County, Utah, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Anthony R. Kampf*
Affiliation:
Mineral Sciences Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
Jakub Plášil
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i., Na Slovance 1999/2, 18221 Praha 8, Czech Republic
Anatoly V. Kasatkin
Affiliation:
Fersman Mineralogical Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospekt, 18-2, 119071, Moscow, Russia
Joe Marty
Affiliation:
5199 East Silver Oak Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
Jiří Čejka
Affiliation:
Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, National Museum, Cirkusová 1740, CZ-193 00, Praha 9, Czech Republic
Ladislav Lapčák
Affiliation:
Central Laboratories, Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, Technická 5, CZ-166 28, Praha 6, Czech Republic
*

Abstract

The new mineral shumwayite (IMA2015-058), [(UO2)(SO4)(H2O)2]2·H2O, was found in the Green Lizard and Giveaway-Simplot mines, White Canyon district, San Juan County, Utah, USA, where it occurs as a secondary alteration phase. At the Green Lizard mine, it is found in association with calcite, gypsum, plášilite, pyrite, rozenite and sulfur; at the Giveaway-Simplot mine, shumwayite is associated with rhomboclase and römerite. The mineral occurs as pale greenish-yellow monoclinic prisms, elongated on [100], up to ∼0.3 mm long and commonly in subparallel to random intergrowths. The mineral is transparent with a vitreous lustre and has a white streak. It fluoresces bright greenish white under both longwave and shortwave ultraviolet radiation. The Mohs hardness is ∼2. Crystals are brittle with perfect {011} cleavage and irregular fracture. The mineral is slightly deliquescent and is easily soluble in room temperature H2O. The calculated density is 3.844 g cm–3. Optically, shumwayite is biaxial (+/–), with α = 1.581(1), β= 1.588(1), γ = 1.595(1) (measured in white light). The measured 2Vx based on extinction data collected on a spindle stage is 89.8(8)°; the calculated 2Vx is 89.6°. Dispersion is strong, but the sense is not defined because the optic sign is ambiguous. No pleochroism was observed. The optical orientation is X = b, Y = c, Z = a. Energy-dispersive spectrometer analyses (with H2O based on the crystal structure) yielded the empirical formula U2.01S1.99O12.00·5H2O.Shumwayite is monoclinic, P21/c, a = 6.74747(15), b = 12.5026(3), c = 16.9032(12) Å, β = 90.919(6)°, V = 1425.79(11) Å3 and Z = 4. The crystal structure (R1 = 1.88% for 2936 F > 4σF) contains UO7 pentagonal bipyramids and SO4 tetrahedra that link by corner-sharing to form [(UO2)(SO4)(H2O)2] chains along [100]. The chains and isolated H2O groups between them are linked together only by hydrogen bonds. The mineral is named in honour of the Shumway family, whose members account for the discovery and mining of hundreds of uranium deposits on the Colorado Plateau, including the Green Lizard mine.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bartlett, J.R. and Cooney, R.P. (1989) On the determination of uranium-oxygen bond lengths in dioxo-uranium(VI) compounds by Raman spectroscopy. Journal of Molecular Structure, 193, 295300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandenburg, N.P. and Loopstra, B.O. (1973) Uranyl sulphate hydrate, UO2SO4-3jH2O. Crystal Structure Communications, 2, 243246.Google Scholar
Brittain, H.G., Ansari, P., Toivonen, J., Niinisto, L., Tsao, L. and Perry, D.L. (1985) Photophysical studies of uranyl complexes. VIII. Luminiscence spectra of UO2SO4-3jH2O and two polymorphs of bis(urea) uranyl sulfate. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 59, 259264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, I.D. and Altermatt, D. (1985) Bond-valence parameters from a systematic analysis of the inorganic crystal structure database. Acta Crystallographica, B41, 244247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, H. (1969) Raman and infrared spectroscopic studies of the uranyl ion: the symmetry stretching frequency, force constants, and bond lengths. Journal of Chemical Society, A1969, 781784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, H. and Parret, F.W. (1970) The low frequency infrared and Raman spectroscopic studies of some uranyl complexes: the deformation frequency of the uranyl ion. Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 48, 30953097.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burla, M.C., Caliandro, R., Camalli, M., Carrozzini, B., Cascarano, G.L., Giacovazzo, C., Mallamo, M., Mazzone, A., Polidori, G. and Spagna, R. (2012) SIR2011: a new package for crystal structure determination and refinement. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 45, 357361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, P.C. (2005) U6+ minerals and inorganic compounds: insights into an expanded structural hierarchy of crystal structures. The Canadian Mineralogist, 43, 18391894.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, P.C., Ewing, R.C. and Hawthorne, F.C. (1997) The crystal chemistry of hexavalent uranium: polyhedron geometries, bond-valence parameters, and polymerization of polyhedra. The Canadian Mineralogist, 35, 15511570.Google Scholar
Čejka, J. (1999) Infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis of the uranyl minerals. Pp. 521622. in: Uranium: Mineralogy, Geochemistry and the Environment (P.C. Burns and R.C. Finch, editors). Reviews in Mineralogy, 38. Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, DC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chenoweth, W.L. (1993) The Geology and Production History of the Uranium Deposits in the White Canyon Mining District, San Juan County, Utah. Miscellaneous Publication 93-3, Utah Geological Survey, USA.Google Scholar
Finch, R.J. and Murakami, T (1999) Systematics and paragenesis of uranium minerals. Pp. 91179. in: Uranium: Mineralogy, Geochemistry and the Environment (P.C. Burns and R.C. Finch, editors). Reviews in Mineralogy, 38. Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, DC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunter, M.E., Bandli, B.R., Bloss, F.D., Evans, S.H., Su, S.C. and Weaver, R. (2004) Results from a McCrone spindle stage short course, a new version of EXCALIBR, and how to build a spindle stage. The Microscope, 52, 2339.Google Scholar
Higashi, T (2001) ABSCOR. Rigaku Corporation, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Kampf, A.R., Kasatkin, A.V., Čejka, J. and Marty, J. (2015a) Plášilite, Na(UO2)(SO4)(OH)-2H2O, a new uranyl sulfate mineral from the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA. Journal ofGeosciences, 60, 110.Google Scholar
Kampf, A.R., Plášil, J., Kasatkin, A.V., Marty, J. and Čejka, J. (2015b) Fermiite, Na4(UO2)(SO4)3-3H2O, and oppenheimerite, Na2(UO2)(SO4)2'3H2O, two new uranyl sulfate minerals from the Blue Lizard mine, San Juan County, Utah, USA. Mineralogical Magazine, 79, 11231142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kampf, A.R., Plášil, J., Kasatkin, A.V., Marty, J., Čejka, J. and Lapčák, L. (2015c) Shumwayite, IMA 2015-058. CNMNC Newsletter No. 27, October 2015, page 1228; Mineralogical Magazine, 79, 12291236.Google Scholar
Kampf, A.R., Sejkora, J., Witzke, T., Plášil, J., Čejka, J., Nash, B.P and Marty, J. (2016) Rietveldite, IMA 2016-081. CNMNC Newsletter No. 34, December 2016, page 1320. Mineralogical Magazine, 80, 13151321.Google Scholar
Krivovichev, S.V. and Plášil, J. (2013) Mineralogy and crystallography of uranium. Pp. 15119 in: Uranium: From Cradle to Grave (P.C. Burns and G.E. Sigmon, editors). MAC Short Courses, 43. Mineralogical Association of Canada, Winnipeg, Canada.Google Scholar
Lane, M.D. (2007) Mid-infrared emission spectroscopy of sulfate and sulfate-bearing minerals. American Mineralogist, 92, 118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Libowitzky, E. (1999) Correlation of O-H stretching frequencies and O-H-0 hydrogen bond lengths in minerals. Monatshefte für Chemie, 130, 10471059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mandarino, I A. (1976) The Gladstone-Dale relationship — Part 1: derivation of new constants. The Canadian Mineralogist, 14, 498502.Google Scholar
Mandarino, J.A. (2007) The Gladstone—Dale compatibility of minerals and its use in selecting mineral species for further study. The Canadian Mineralogist, 45, 13071324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohwada, K. (1976) Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Some Uranyl Nitrate Complexes. Journal of Coordination Chemistry, 6, 7580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plášil, J. (2014) Oxidation-hydration weathering of uraninite: the current state-of-knowledge. Journal of Geoscience, 59, 99114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plášil, J., Buixaderas, E., Čejka, J., Sejkora, J., Jehlička, J. and Novák, M. (2010) Raman spectroscopic study of the uranyl sulphate mineral zippeite: low wavenumber and U—O stretching regions. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 397, 27032715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shumway, G.L. (1970) A History of the Uranium Industry on the Colorado Plateau. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, unpublished PhD dissertation, 278 pp.Google Scholar
Sheldrick, G.M. (2008) A short history of SHELX. Acta Crystallographica, A64, 112122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Putten, N., Loopstra, B.O. (1974) Uranyl sulphate 2.5 H2O, UO2SO4-2.5H2O. Crystal Structure Communications, 3, 377380.Google Scholar
Vlček, V., Čejka, J., Císarová, I., Golias, V and Plášil, J. (2009) Crystal structure of UO2SCy2.5H2O: Full anisotropic refinement and vibration characterization. Journal of Molecular Structure, 936, 7579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zalkin, A., Ruben, H. and Templeton, D.H. (1978) Structure of a new uranyl sulfate hydrate, a-2UO2SO4'7H2O. Inorganic Chemistry, 17, 37013702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar