Wolfeite Mineral Data

General Wolfeite Information

Chemical Formula:

(Fe++,Mn++)2(PO4)(OH)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 223.22 gm

Manganese 12.31 % Mn 15.89 % MnO

Iron 37.53 % Fe 48.28 % FeO

Phosphorus 13.88 % P 31.80 % P₂O₅

Hydrogen 0.45 % H 4.04 % H₂O

Oxygen 35.84 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Fe²⁺_1.5Mn²⁺_0.5(PO₄)(OH)

Environment:

Alteration product of triphylite.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1949

Locality:

Palermo mine, North Groton, New Hampshire. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Caleb Wroe Wolfe (1908-1980), crystallographer, Boston University.

Name Pronunciation:

Wolfeite

Wolfeite Image

Images:

Wolfeite

Comments: Opaque massive wolfeite.
Location: Wilson's Pegmatite, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. Scale: See Photo.
© Jeff Weissman / Photographic Guide to Mineral Species

Images:

Wicksite Wolfeite

Comments: Cleaved nodule of fine-grained aggregate of wicksite and wolfeite.
Location: Big Fish River, Yukon, Canada. Scale: 3 x 1.5 cm.
© Dave Barthelmy

Wolfeite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.9263:1:0.7433

Cell Dimensions:

a = 12.2, b = 13.17, c = 9.79, Z = 16; beta = 108° V = 1,496.01 Den(Calc)= 3.96

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - Prismatic H-M Symbol (2/m) Space Group: P 2₁/a

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.93(1), 3.09(0.9), 3.18(0.8),

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Forms: ( 0 2 1) ( 0 1 0) ( 1 0 1) ( 1 1 0) ( 1 2 0) ( 1 0 0) ( 0 0 1)

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Physical Properties of Wolfeite

Cleavage:

{010} Good, {120} Distinct

Color:

Greenish, Dark brown, Reddish brown.

Density:

3.79

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to Translucent

Fracture:

Conchoidal - Uneven - Uneven fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments.

Hardness:

4.5-5 - Near Apatite

Luster:

Vitreous - Greasy

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Wolfeite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.031 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.014 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1913,KPDmeas= 0.1999,KC= 0.194
Ncalc = 1.74 - 1.77

Optical Data:

Biaxial (+), a=1.741, b=1.742, g=1.79, bire=0.0490

Calculated Properties of Wolfeite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=3.81 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Wolfeite =3.96 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.0081287464
Boson Index = 0.9918712536

Photoelectric:

PE_Wolfeite= 15.16 barns/electron
U=PE_Wolfeite x rElectron Density= 57.81 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Wolfeite is Not Radioactive

Wolfeite Classification

Dana Class:

41.06.03.01 (41)Anhydrous Phosphates, etc. Containing Hydroxyl or Halogen

(41.06)where (A)2 (XO4) Zq

(41.06.03)Wolfeite Group

41.06.03.01 Wolfeite (Fe,Mn)2(PO4)(OH) P 2₁/a 2/m

41.06.03.02 Triploidite (Mn,Fe)2(PO4)(OH) P 2₁/a 2/m

41.06.03.03 Sarkinite Mn2(AsO4)(OH) P 2₁/a 2/m

41.06.03.04 Stanekite! Fe(Mn,Fe,Mg)(PO4)O P 2₁/a 2/m

41.06.03.06 Joosteite! (Mn,Mn,Fe)2(PO4)O I2/a 2/m

Strunz Class:

08.BB.15 08 - PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES

08.B - Phosphates, etc. with Additional Anions, without H2O

08.BB -With only medium-sized cations, (OH, etc.):RO4 � 1:1

08.BB.15 Sarkinite Mn2(AsO4)(OH) P 2₁/a 2/m

08.BB.15 Stanekite! Fe(Mn,Fe,Mg)(PO4)O P 2₁/a 2/m

08.BB.15 Triploidite (Mn,Fe)2(PO4)(OH) P 2₁/a 2/m

08.BB.15 Wagnerite (Mg,Fe)2(PO4)F P 2₁/a 2/m

08.BB.15 Wolfeite (Fe,Mn)2(PO4)(OH) P 2₁/a 2/m

08.BB.15 Joosteite! (Mn,Mn,Fe)2(PO4)O I2/a 2/m

Other Wolfeite Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Wolfeite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery
3 - Athena
4 - EUROmin Project
5 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
6 - GeoScienceWorld
7 - Google Images
8 - Google Scholar
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
10 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
11 - MinDAT
12 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
13 - Online Mineral Museum
14 - QUT Mineral Atlas
15 - Ruff.Info
16 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Wolfeite Specimen Label here :

Wolfeite

(Fe++,Mn++)2(PO4)(OH)
Dana No: 41.06.03.01 Strunz No: 08.BB.15
Locality:

Notes:

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