Borate Minerals. Ii. a Hierarchy of Structures
731 The Canadian Mineralogist Vol 37, pp 731-'162(1999) BORATEMINERALS. II. A HIERARCHYOF STRUCTURES BASEDUPON THE BORATE FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK JOEL D. GRICE Research Division, Canadian Museum of Nature, p O. Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, Ontario Klp 6p4, Canada PETERC. BURNS Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences,(Jniversity of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, U.S.A. FRANK C. HAWTHORNES Department of Geological Sciences,University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada AesrRAcr A hierarchical structural classification is developed for borate minerals, based on the linkage of (BQ) triangles and (BO+) tetrahedra to form FBBs (fundamental building blocks) that polymerize to form the structural unit, a tightly bonded anionic polyhedral array whose excesscharge is baianced by the presenceof large low-valence interstitial cations. Thirty-one minerals, with nineteen distinct structure-types,contain isolated borate polyhedra. Twenty-seven minerals, with twenty-five distinct struc- ture-types, contain finite clusters of borate polyhedra. Ten minerals, with ten distinct structue-types, contain chains of borate polyhedra. Fifteen minerals, with thirteen distinct structue-types, contain sheets of borate polyhedra. Fifteen minerals, with thirteen distinct sEucture-types,contain frameworks of borate polyhedra. It is only the close-packed structures of the isolated- polyhedra class that show significant isotypism Kelwords: borate minerals, crystal sffuctures, structural hierarchy. Sowenn Nous ddvelopponsici un sch6made classification structurale des mindraux du groupe des borates,fond6 sur I'articulation des ffiangles (BO:) et des t6trabdres(BOa), qui forment des modules structuraux fondamentaux. Ceux-ci, polym6ris6s, constituent l'unitd structuralede la maille, un agencementcompact d'anions fait de ces polyddres dont I'excddent de charge est neutralis6par des cations interstitiels h rayon relativement gros et d valence relativement faible.
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