Kuratite, Ca4(Fe2+ 10Ti2)O4[Si8Al4O36], the Fe 1 2+-analogue of rhönite, a new mineral from the D'Orbigny angrite meteorite

HWANG S.L.; SHEN P; CHU, H-T; YUI T.F.; VARELA M.E.; IIZUKA Y.

MINERALOGICAL MAGAZINE

MINERALOGICAL SOC

Lugar: Middlesex; Año: 2015

0026-461X

Kuratite, ideally Ca4(Fe2+10Ti2)O4[Si8Al4O36], the Fe2+-analogue of rhönite and a new member of the sapphirine supergroup, was identified from the D´Orbigny angrite meteorite by electron microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Based on the least-squares refinement of 25 d-spacings measured from selected area electron diffraction patterns of eleven zone axes, symmetry of kuratite was shown to be triclinic (space group P by analogy to rhönite) with a = 10.513(7), b = 10.887(7), c = 9.004(18)Å, α = 105.97(13), β = 96.00(12), γ = 124.82(04)o, V = 767  2 Å3 and Z = 1 for the 40 oxygen formula. The empirical formula based on eight electron microprobe analyses is (Ca3.88Na0.02REE3+0.03Mn0.03Mg0.01Ni0.02Zn0.01Sr0.01)Σ4.01 (Fe2+9.98Ti2.00)Σ11.98(Si7.80Al3.52Fe3+0.64P0.05S0.02)Σ12.03O39.98F0.01Cl0.01. The simplified formula is Ca4(Fe2+10Ti2)O4[Si8Al4O36]. Micro-Raman spectroscopy showed four main bands resembling those of lunar rhönite but with higher frequencies due to different chemical composition. Analogous to the occurrence of kuratite in terrestrial basaltic rocks, kuratite coexisting with Al, Ti-bearing hedenbergite, ulvöspinel, iron-sulfide, tsangpoite, Ca-rich fayalite and kirschsteinite in angrite D?Orbigny most likely was formed at >1000C temperatures from rapid cooling of an interstitial melt, which is subsilicic, almost Mg-free but enriched in Al-P-Ca-Ti-Fe.Keywords: kuratite, angrite, D´Orbigny, rhönite, sapphirine supergroup