Mineral Name Chalcanthite
First Discovered Prehistoric, Exact Year Unknown
Nickel-Strunz Classification 07.CB.20
Dana Classification 29.06.07.01
ICSD 20657
Mineral Group Sulfates

 

Chalcanthite is a richly coloured sulfate mineral. The name chalcanthite is derived from the Greek word 'chalkos' and 'anthos' which means flower. Chalcanthite appears in many places around the world. However, due to the fact that chalcanthite is soluble in water, natural crystals can usually only be found in arid regions.

Within the metaphysical realm of minerals, chalcanthite is an excellent throat chakra stone. It is said to help further desires through communication abilities. It is also said to help one stay in the now and enjoy life, as well as get rid of feelings of abandonment. Chalcanthite is reputed to eliminate delays of things in progress. It is also used metaphysically for insight, clairvoyance, and psychic attunement. It is said to enhance one's ability to "read" people and situation.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that minerals should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

As chalcanthite is a copper mineral, it can be used as an ore of copper. However, its ready solubility in water means that it tends to crystallize, dissolve, and re-crystallize as crusts over any mine surface in more humid regions. Therefore, chalcanthite is only found in the most arid regions in sufficiently large quantities for use as an ore.

Chalcanthite is commonly found in the late-stage oxidation zones of copper deposits. Due to its ready solubility, chalcanthite is more common in arid regions.

Chalcanthite is a pentahydrate and the most common member of a group of similar hydrated sulfates, the chalcanthite group. These other sulfates are identical in chemical composition to chalcanthite, with the exception of replacement of the copper ion by either manganese as jokokuite, iron as siderotil, or magnesium as pentahydrite. Due to the solubility of chalcanthite, there are significant problems when trying to store the mineral. The mineral readily absorbs and releases its water content, which, over time, leads to a disintegration of the crystal structure, destroying even the finest specimens. It is critical to store specimens properly to limit exposure to humidity. Second, higher quality crystals can be easily grown synthetically, and, as such, there is a concern that disreputable mineral dealers would present a sample as natural when it is not.

Other than in the basic mineral form, chalcanthite can be found in twelve distinct varieties:

     

Cleavage Indistinct to Imperfect
Colour(s) Green, Green blue, Light blue, Dark blue
Specific Gravity 2.21
Diaphaneity Translucent to Sub transparent
Fracture Conchoidal
Mohs Hardness 2.5
Luminescence Non-fluorescent
Lustre Vitreous
Streak White
Habit(s) Encrustations to Reniform to Stalactitic
Radioactivity Non-radioactive
Magnetism Diamagnetic

The following health hazards should be noted when handling chalcanthite

TOXIC

Chalcanthite is fatal if ingested and will also stain the skin for several days.

ENVIORNMENTAL HAZARD

Chalcanthite has a mildly sweet taste and may be ingested, although fatal, by animals.


The following image shows the Elemental breakdown of the mineral chalcanthite along with the mineral crystal structure.

Crystal System Triclinic
Class Pinacoidal
Axial Ratios a : b : c = 0.5719 : 1 : 0.5579
Optical Data Type Biaxial (-)
Pleochroism (x) N/A
Pleochroism (y) N/A
RL Values nα = 1.514 nβ = 1.537 nγ = 1.543
2V Measured: 56° , Calculated: 56°
Max Birefringence δ = 0.029 (See colour chart at right)
Surface Relief Low
Dispersion Weak r < v

Chalcanthite can be referenced in certain current and historical texts under the following seven names:

 

The mineral chalcanthite can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic   Bulgarian   Chinese (Sim) 胆矾
Croatian   Czech Chalkantit Danish  
Dutch Chalcanthiet Esperanto   Estonian  
Finnish   French Chalcantite German Chalkanthit
Greek   Hebrew   Hungarian Kalkantit
Italian Calcantite Japanese 胆礬 Korean

찰칸차잍

Latin Chalcanthum Lithuanian   Norwegian  
Persian   Polish Chalkantyt Portuguese Calcantite
Romanian   Russian Халькантит Slovak Chalkantit
Spanish Chalcantita Swedish   Tagalog  
Turkish   Ukrainian Халькантит Vietnamese  

Chalcanthite is considered to be abundant around the world. The map below shows major documented concentrations of chalcanthite:

The MIROFOSS database offers free printable geological identification tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify mineral samples in your collection. -Click here- to download a full size jpeg image for a chalcanthite identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

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Crystallography Bandy (1938) American Mineralogist: 23: 718.
History Palache, C., Berman, H., & Frondel, C. (1951), The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, Yale University 1837-1892, Volume II. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 7th edition, revised and enlarged, 1124 pp.: 488-491.
History Gaines, Richard V., H. Catherine, W. Skinner, Eugene E. Foord, Brian Mason, Abraham Rosenzweig (1997), Dana's New Mineralogy : The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, 8th. edition: 605.
Geographical Data Mindat.org. Retrieved on 2013-02-04
Physical Identification Webmineral.com. Retrieved on 2013-02-04.
February 04, 2013 The last time this page was updated