Eur. J. Mineral. 2007, 19, 247–253 Pumpellyite-(Al), a new mineral from Bertrix, Belgian Ardennes FRED´ ERIC´ HATERT1,*,MARCO PASERO 2,NATALE PERCHIAZZI2 and THOMAS THEYE3 1 LaboratoiredeMin´eralogie, D´epartement de G´eologie, Bˆatiment B18, Universit´edeLi`ege, 4000 Li`ege, Belgium * Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected] 2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit`a degli Studi di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy 3 Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallchemie, Universität Stuttgart, Azenbergstraße 18, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany 2+ Abstract: Pumpellyite-(Al), ideally Ca2(Al,Fe ,Mg)Al2(SiO4)(Si2O7)(OH,O)2·H2O, is a newly approved mineral species from Bertrix, Ardennes mountains, Belgium. It occurs as radiating fibrous aggregates reaching 5 mm in diameter, constituted by acicular crystals associated with calcite, K-feldspar and chlorite. Pumpellyite-(Al) is transparent to translucent and exhibits an emerald-green to white colour, sometimes with bluish tinges. The lustre is vitreous and the streak is colourless. The mineral is non-fluorescent, brittle, and shows a perfect {100} cleavage. The estimated Mohs hardness is 5½, and the calculated density is 3.24 g/cm3. Pumpellyite-(Al) is biaxial positive, [ = 1.678(2), q = 1.680(2), * = 1.691(1) ( † = 590 nm), colourless in thin section, 2V = 46°, Y = b, no dispersion. Electron-microprobe analyses gave SiO2 37.52, Al2O3 25.63, MgO 1.99, FeO 4.97, MnO 0.11, CaO 23.21, BaO 0.01, Na2O 0.03, K2O 0.02, H2Ocalc. 6.71, total 100.20 wt. %. The resulting empirical formula, calculated on the basis of 2+ 8 cations, is (Ca1.99Na0.01) 7 2.00(Al0.42Fe 0.33Mg0.24Mn0.01) 7 1.00Al2.00(SiO4)(Si2O7)(OH)2.42 · 0.58H2O. The simplified formula is Ca2AlAl2(SiO4)(Si2O7)(OH)3, which requires SiO2 38.16, Al2O3 32.38, CaO 23.74, H2O 5.72, Total 100.00 wt. %. The unit-cell parameters, refined from X-ray powder diffraction data, are: a = 8.818(2), b = 5.898(2), c = 19.126(6) Å, q = 97.26(3)°, V = 986.7(4) Å3, space group A2/m. The eight strongest lines in the powder pattern [d-values(in Å)(I)(hkl)] are: 4.371(65)(200), 3.787(80)(202), 3.040(70)(204), 2.912(95)(300), 2.895(100)(302), 2.731(40)(206), 2.630(35)(311), 2.191(45)(402). Pumpel- lyite-(Al) belongs to the pumpellyite group, and corresponds to the Al-rich compositions where the M1 and M2 sites contain Al as predominant cation. The crystal structure of pumpellyite-(Al) has been refined by the Rietveld method, based on an X-ray powder diffraction pattern, to RBragg = 7.09 %. The infrared spectrum is similar to those of minerals of the pumpellyite group. The mineral species and name were approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names, IMA (no. 2005-016). Key-words: Pumpellyite-(Al), new mineral, crystal structure, infrared spectrum, Bertrix, Belgium. Introduction Occurrences of Al-rich pumpellyite were previously re- ported in literature, and the crystal structures of several Al- In the metamorphic area of Libramont-Bertrix, Belgian Ar- rich pumpellyite samples were published by Galli & Alberti dennes, the occurrence of zeolites was first mentioned by (1969), Yoshiasa & Matsumoto (1985), Artioli & Geiger Antun (1953) who described laumontite samples from the (1994), and Artioli et al. (1996). The name “pumpellyite-(- Cambrian Serpont Massif. More recently, the discovery of Al)” was proposed by Passaglia & Gottardi (1973) for sam- three new occurrences of this mineral around Bertrix initiat- ples with Al-rich compositions, but the physical properties ed a detailed mineralogical study of laumontite from this ar- of the mineral and its crystal structure were not determined. ea (Hatert, 1998), followed by the description of other zeo- The report of Passaglia & Gottardi (1973) with the nomen- lites, of prehnite, and of pumpellyite, associated with lau- clature of the pumpellyite group was approved by the Com- montite (Hatert & Theye, 2005). mission on New Minerals and Mineral Names of the Inter- In the Lochkovian schists and quartzites exploited in the national Mineralogical Association (CNMMN-IMA). Bertrix quarry, some fractures are covered by emerald-green However, as no formal proposal has been submitted to the to white radiating fibrous aggregates of acicular crystals. CNMMN, the status of pumpellyite-(Al) as a valid species The aggregates, up to 5 mm in diameter, are associated with was still controversial. The mineral does not appear in Da- calcite, K-feldspar and chlorite. A preliminary examination na’s New Mineralogy (Gaines et al., 1997), in the Handbook by X-ray powder diffraction indicated that this mineral be- of Mineralogy (Anthony et al., 1997), or in the Encyclope- longs to the pumpellyite group, and electron-microprobe dia of Mineral Names (Blackburn & Dennen, 1997). Hey’s analyses revealed the presence of aluminium in significant Mineral Index (Clark, 1993) gives the name, but not in bold amounts (Hatert & Theye, 2005). type, meaning that it is not considered as a species. The 0935-1221/07/0019-1720 $ 2.70 DOI: 10.1127/0935-1221/2007/0019-1720 ˇ 2007 E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, D-70176 Stuttgart 248 F. Hatert, M. Pasero, N. Perchiazzi, T. Theye Strunz Mineralogical Tables (Strunz & Nickel, 2001), how- trolite), prehnite, pumpellyite-(Al), chlorite, microcline, ever, list pumpellyite-(Al) as a valid mineral. and calcite, is related to the retrograde, low-temperature al- The aim of this paper is to fill the gap in systematic min- teration of the metasediments. The decomposition of biotite eralogy with a complete description of a sample of pumpel- released Fe and Mg for the formation of pumpellyite-(Al) lyite-(Al). Comprehensive data, namely physical, optical, and chlorite, and K for the formation of microcline. The re- infrared spectral, chemical, X-ray powder diffraction data, placement of plagioclase by albite was the source of Ca for and a Rietveld structure refinement, are here presented for secondary minerals. Particularly, laumontite crystallised at the same sample, which from now on has to be considered as a pressure of 2 +/- 1 kbar and between 200 and 250°C (Ha- the holotype. The mineral is named in accordance with the tert & Theye, 2005). Stilbite-Ca appeared between 150 and nomenclature of the pumpellyite group (Passaglia & Gottar- 250°C, and the maximum stability ranges of prehnite and di, 1973) and with the CNMMN-IMA rules. The mineral pumpellyite-(Al) are compatible with the stability field of species and name were approved by the CNMMN-IMA (no. associated laumontite (Hatert & Theye, 2005). 2005-016), and the type material is stored in the collection of the Laboratory of Mineralogy, University of Li`ege, Bel- gium (no. 20327). Physical properties Pumpellyite-(Al) aggregates (Fig. 1), up to 5 mm in diame- Geological setting ter, show an emerald-green to white colour, sometimes with distinct bluish tinges. The mineral is transparent to translu- Many samples of pumpellyite-(Al) were collected between cent, with a vitreous lustre and with a colourless streak. It is 1998 and 2003 in the quarry “Carri`eredelaFl`eche”, 3 km non-fluorescent, brittle, and shows a perfect {100} cleav- northwest of the Bertrix village, Belgian Ardennes. The age. The estimated Mohs hardness is 5½. The density could mineral occurs in lately formed veins associated with cal- not be measured due to the fibrous habit of the mineral; the cite, K-feldspar and chlorite. The veins crosscut metamor- calculated density is 3.24 g/cm3. Pumpellyite-(Al) is biaxial phic quartzites and schists of Lochkovian sedimentation positive, with [ = 1.678(2), q = 1.680(2), and * = 1.691(1) age, with a primary metamorphic assemblage comprising ( † = 590 nm). The mineral is colourless in thin section, and minerals such as magnetite, plagioclase, biotite, as well as the calculated 2V angle is 46°. Y is oriented along the b axis, rare hornblende and garnet. Low P-medium T conditions and no dispersion has been observed. around 2 kbar / 400°C are estimated by Beugnies (1986). Data obtained by Theye & Fransolet (1993) on assemblages containing garnet, plagioclase, and hornblende indicate Infrared spectroscopy maximum P-T conditions up to 3–4 kbar / 500°C in the area of Libramont. The infrared spectrum of pumpellyite-(Al) (Fig. 2) was re- The formation of the late minerals, such as zeolites (lau- corded with a Nicolet NEXUS spectrometer, from 32 scans montite, stilbite-Ca, chabazite-Ca, natrolite and/or tetrana- with a 1 cm–1 resolution, over the 400–4000 cm–1 region. Fig. 1. Fibrous radiating aggregates of pumpellyite-(Al) (Pmp), associated with calcite (Cc) and chlorite (Chl) from Bertrix, Belgium. Trans- mitted light polarising microscope, 250 µm length. Pumpellyite-(Al), a new mineral from Bertrix 249 The sample was prepared by intimately mixing 1 mg of sam- to Lazarev (1972), a correlation exists between the position 6– ple with KBr in order to obtain a 150 mg homogeneous pel- of this band and the mean Si-O bond of the [Si2O7] group. let which was subsequently dried for a few hours at 110°C. The position of this band corresponds to a Si-O distance of To prevent water contamination, the measurements were 1.625 Å, close to the mean (Si1+Si2)-O bond length of performed under a dry air purge. 1.634 Å, obtained from the structural data (see below). The infrared spectrum is comparable to the vibrational spectra of other hydrous sorosilicates, as for example miner- als of the epidote group (Liebscher, 2004) or västmanlandi- Chemical composition te-(Ce) (Holtstam et al., 2005). The spectrum shows a com- plex group of broad bands at ca. 3542, 3499, 3407, 3127 and Quantitative chemical analyses were performed with a Ca- 3010 cm–1, which can be assigned to OH stretching vibra- meca SX-100 electron microprobe (Institut für Mineralogie tions.