1976 Volume 71 Issue 7 Pages 183-192
Nakauriite is a new mineral found as fissure-fillings in serpentinite. There are two types appearing in different modes of occurrences, and showing a few faint differences in X-ray diffraction and DTA patterns. Both show very fine needle-like and prismatic forms with characteristic sky-blue color. It is effervescent in HCl, H2SO4 and HNO3 Chemical analysis gave Mn0.019 Ni0.231 Cu7.770 (SO4)3.904 (CO3)(OH)6.232 48.4H2O or (Mn, Ni, Cu)8(SO4)4 (CO3)(OH)6 48H2O as C=1 for empirical cell contents. The most intense X-ray diffraction lines (in Å) are 7.31 (100), 4.840 (14), 3.936 (14), 3.652 (20), 3.552(13), 2.397 (14), 2.367 (16), 2.332(14) and 1.9148 (16). The 7.823Å-line appears with variable intensities. Nakauriite is pleochroic, X=colorless, Y=very light greenish blue, Z=pale sky-blue to very light blue. The mineral is biaxial negative with α=1.585, β=1.604, γ=1.612 (all±0.001), 2V(-)=65.3 (calc.), showing positive elongation. Extinction is parallel to the outline. Five endothermic reactions are found at 78, 150, 186, 330 and 396°C of peak maxima, respectively, the last two being characteristically strong. Infrared absorption gives two characteristic bands at 3000 and 1360 cm-1. The name is for the locality.