Caracolite
A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered
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About Caracolite
Mining town of Caracoles
Caracoles, Caracoles mining district, Sierra Gorda, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, Chile
Caracoles, Caracoles mining district, Sierra Gorda, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, Chile
Formula:
Na3Pb2(SO4)3Cl
Colour:
Colourless, grayish, greenish stained; colourless in transmitted light.
Lustre:
Vitreous
Hardness:
4½
Specific Gravity:
5.1
Crystal System:
Monoclinic
Member of:
Name:
After Caracoles, a town near the type locality of the Beatriz Mine, Sierra Gorda, Atacama, Chile.
This page provides mineralogical data about Caracolite.
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
890
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:890:1
Similar Names
IMA Classification of Caracolite
Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)
IMA Formula:
Na2(Pb2+2Na)(S6+O4)3Cl
First published:
1886
Classification of Caracolite
7.BD.20
7 : SULFATES (selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates, wolframates)
B : Sulfates (selenates, etc.) with additional anions, without H2O
D : With only large cations
7 : SULFATES (selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates, wolframates)
B : Sulfates (selenates, etc.) with additional anions, without H2O
D : With only large cations
30.3.2.1
30 : ANHYDROUS SULFATES CONTAINING HYDROXYL OR HALOGEN
3 : (AB)5(XO4)3Zq
30 : ANHYDROUS SULFATES CONTAINING HYDROXYL OR HALOGEN
3 : (AB)5(XO4)3Zq
26.25
26 : Sulphates with Halide
26 : Sulphates with Halide
Mineral Symbols
As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
| Symbol | Source | Reference for Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Cco | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
Physical Properties of Caracolite
Vitreous
Transparency:
Transparent
Colour:
Colourless, grayish, greenish stained; colourless in transmitted light.
Hardness:
4½ on Mohs scale
Cleavage:
None Observed
Density:
5.1 g/cm3 (Measured) 4.5 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Comment:
Measured density approximate.
Optical Data of Caracolite
Type:
Biaxial (-)
RI values:
nα = 1.743(5) nβ = 1.754(5) nγ = 1.764(5)
Max. Birefringence:
δ = 0.021
Based on recorded range of RI values above.
Based on recorded range of RI values above.
Interference Colours:
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.
Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.
Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars. Each grain retains its interference colour (retardation) while its brightness falls to black at extinction and reaches a maximum between extinction positions.
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.
Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.
Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars. Each grain retains its interference colour (retardation) while its brightness falls to black at extinction and reaches a maximum between extinction positions.
Surface Relief:
Very High (positive)
Relative to Canada balsam mounting medium (n ≈ 1.537).
Relative to Canada balsam mounting medium (n ≈ 1.537).
This shows the grain boundary and Becke line effect under plane-polarised
light, based on the contrast between this mineral's average refractive
index and the mounting medium. It does not take into account mineral
colouration.
In focus
Interference Figure:
This shows the idealized biaxial acute bisectrix (Bxa) interference figure
- the conoscopic view for a grain cut perpendicular to the acute bisectrix, using
this mineral's 2V. The two small white dots mark the melatopes - the points
where the two optic axes emerge - and are shown only when they fall within the
field of view. The coloured bands are isochromatics, and the dark bands are
isogyres.
Rotate the stage: at 0°/90° the isogyres form a cross through the melatopes; at 45° they pull apart into curved hyperbolas. That splitting on rotation - absent in a uniaxial figure - is the standard diagnostic test for telling biaxial minerals from uniaxial ones. If 2V is large, the melatopes may fall outside the field of view, as they often do at the microscope too.
No measured or calculated 2V is on file for this mineral, so the value used here (87°) is estimated from its recorded refractive indices and optic sign, not from a direct 2V measurement.
Rotate the stage: at 0°/90° the isogyres form a cross through the melatopes; at 45° they pull apart into curved hyperbolas. That splitting on rotation - absent in a uniaxial figure - is the standard diagnostic test for telling biaxial minerals from uniaxial ones. If 2V is large, the melatopes may fall outside the field of view, as they often do at the microscope too.
No measured or calculated 2V is on file for this mineral, so the value used here (87°) is estimated from its recorded refractive indices and optic sign, not from a direct 2V measurement.
Dispersion:
r > v moderate
Comments:
2V(meas.) = Very large.
Chemistry of Caracolite
Mindat Formula:
Na3Pb2(SO4)3Cl
Element Weights:
Crystallography of Caracolite
Crystal System:
Monoclinic
Class (H-M):
2/m - Prismatic
Space Group:
P21/m
Setting:
P21/m
Cell Parameters:
a = 19.62 Å, b = 7.14 Å, c = 9.81 Å
β = 120°
β = 120°
Ratio:
a:b:c = 2.748 : 1 : 1.374
Unit Cell V:
1,190.14 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:
4
Morphology:
Occurs as crystalline incrustations. Imperfect crystals to 1 mm apparently hexagonal with a hexagonal pyramid and prism plus a large base.
Twinning:
Pseudo-hexagonal trillings, analogous to aragonite. Exhibits complex polysynthetic twinning with rather large extinction angles.
Crystal Structure
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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure
| ID | Species | Reference | Link | Year | Locality | Pressure (GPa) | Temp (K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0014735 | Caracolite | Schneider W (1969) Bestimmung einer uberstruktur am caracolit Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, Monatshefte 1969 58-64 | 1969 | Caracoles, Chile | 0 | 293 | |
| 0014733 | Caracolite | Schneider W (1967) Caracolit, das Na3Pb2(SO4)3Cl mit apatitstruktur Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, Monatshefte 1967 284-289 | 1967 | 0 | 293 |
CIF Raw Data - click here to close
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 8.45 Å | (31) |
| 4.03 Å | (31) |
| 3.55 Å | (55) |
| 2.927 Å | (100) |
| 2.876 Å | (45) |
| 2.132 Å | (35) |
| 1.906 Å | (56) |
Geological Environment
Paragenetic Mode(s):
| Paragenetic Mode | Earliest Age (Ga) |
|---|---|
| Stage 7: Great Oxidation Event | <2.4 |
| 47b : [Sulfates and sulfites] | |
| 47g : [Halogen-bearing surface weathering minerals] |
Geological Setting:
In Ash from lead smelters.
Type Occurrence of Caracolite
General Appearance of Type Material:
Crystalline incrustations with pseudohexagonal crystals to 1mm.
Associated Minerals at Type Locality:
Other Language Names for Caracolite
Relationship of Caracolite to other Species
Member of:
Other Members of Hedyphane Group:
| Aiolosite | Na4Bi(SO4)3Cl | Hex. 6/m : P63/m |
| Cesanite | Na3Ca2(SO4)3(OH) | Hex. 6 : P6 |
| Fluorphosphohedyphane | Ca2Pb3(PO4)3F | Hex. 6/m : P63/m |
| Fluorsigaiite | Ca2Sr3(PO4)3F | Hex. 6/m : P63/m |
| Hedyphane | Ca2Pb3(AsO4)3Cl | Hex. 6/mmm(6/m2/m2/m) : P63/mmc |
| Hydroxylhedyphane | Ca2Pb3(AsO4)3(OH) | Trig. 3 : P3 |
| Miyahisaite | (Sr,Ca)2Ba3(PO4)3F | Hex. 6/m : P63/m |
| Morelandite | Ca2Ba3(AsO4)3Cl | Hex. |
| Parafiniukite | Ca2Mn3(PO4)3Cl | Hex. 6/m : P63/m |
| Phosphohedyphane | Ca2Pb3(PO4)3Cl | Hex. 6/m : P63/m |
| 'UM2002-53-PO:CaHPb' | Ca2Pb3(PO4)3(OH,Cl,F) |
Common Associates
Associations Based on Photo Data:
| 7 photos of Caracolite associated with Kröhnkite | Na2Cu(SO4)2 · 2H2O |
| 5 photos of Caracolite associated with Changoite | Na2Zn(SO4)2 · 4H2O |
| 3 photos of Caracolite associated with Glauberite | Na2Ca(SO4)2 |
| 2 photos of Caracolite associated with Quartz | SiO2 |
| 2 photos of Caracolite associated with Mahnertite | NaCu3(AsO4)2Cl · 5H2O |
| 1 photo of Caracolite associated with Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| 1 photo of Caracolite associated with Philipsbornite | PbAl3(AsO4)(AsO3OH)(OH)6 |
| 1 photo of Caracolite associated with Metavoltine | K2Na6Fe2+Fe3+6O2(SO4)12 · 18H2O |
| 1 photo of Caracolite associated with Bonattite | CuSO4 · 3H2O |
| 1 photo of Caracolite associated with Herbertsmithite | Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2 |
Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping
| 7.BD. | Hasanovite | KNa(MoO2)(SO4)2 |
| 7.BD. | Kennygayite | [Pb4O2(OH)2](SO4) |
| 7.BD. | Adanite | Pb2(Te4+O3)(SO4) |
| 7.BD. | Cadsulfohite | Cd2(SO4)(OH)2 |
| 7.BD. | Hyblerite | Pb4Bi2(SO4)2(CO3)O4 |
| 7.BD. | Zanelliite | PbCu9[AsO3.5(OH)0.5]2(AsO4)2(OH)9(H2O)3 |
| 7.BD. | Evanichite | Pb6Cr3+(Cr6+O4)2(SO4)(OH)7FCl |
| 7.BD.05 | Sulphohalite | Na6(SO4)2FCl |
| 7.BD.10 | Galeite | Na15(SO4)5F4Cl |
| 7.BD.10 | Schairerite | Na21(SO4)7ClF6 |
| 7.BD.15 | Kogarkoite | Na3(SO4)F |
| 7.BD.20 | Aiolosite | Na4Bi(SO4)3Cl |
| 7.BD.20 | Cesanite | Na3Ca2(SO4)3(OH) |
| 7.BD.25 | Burkeite | Na6(CO3)(SO4)2 |
| 7.BD.30 | Hanksite | Na22K(SO4)9(CO3)2Cl |
| 7.BD.35 | Cannonite | Bi2(SO4)O(OH)2 |
| 7.BD.40 | Lanarkite | Pb2(SO4)O |
| 7.BD.45 | Grandreefite | Pb2(SO4)F2 |
| 7.BD.50 | Itoite | Pb3Ge4+(SO4)2O2(OH)2 |
| 7.BD.55 | Chiluite | Bi3Te6+Mo6+O10.5 |
| 7.BD.60 | Hectorfloresite | Na9(SO4)4(IO3) |
| 7.BD.65 | Pseudograndreefite | Pb6(SO4)F10 |
| 7.BD.70 | Sundiusite | Pb10(SO4)O8Cl2 |
Other Information
Notes:
Decomposes in H2O, leaving PbSO4.
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Caracolite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-890.html
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References for Caracolite
Reference List:
Fletcher, L. (1889) On Crystals of Percylite, Caracolite, and an Oxychloride of Lead (Daviesite), from Mina Beatriz, Sierra Gorda, Atacama, South America. Mineralogical Magazine, 8 (39) 171-180 doi:10.1180/minmag.1889.008.39.01
Larsen, Esper S. (1921) The microscopic determination of the nonopaque minerals. Bulletin 679. US Geological Survey doi:10.3133/b679 p.52
Localities for Caracolite
Showing 28 localities.
symbol to view information about a locality.
The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
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Lolón Main Mine, Cerro Challacollo, Pozo Almonte, Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá, Chile