THE MINERAL SAINFELDITE


Sainfeldite is a rare mineral but is becoming a popular collection mineral. It forms nice rosette clusters of crystals with an attractive pink color. Although the crystals are usually small, they do provide a good sparkle and make for good specimens.

Sainfeldite's chemistry is unusual in that it has the unusual ion group of AsO3{OH}. This group is the same as the regular arsenate ion group except that one of the four oxygens is replaced by an hydroxide or OH group. Sometimes the formula for sainfeldite is written as Ca5H2(AsO4)4 - 4H2O. Other arsenates with this chemical oddity include pharmacolite, guerinite and picropharmacolite, all of which are associated with sainfeldite. The mineral hureaulite is similar, but with a phosphate as the affected ion group.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

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