Halide minerals

The halide mineral class include those minerals with a dominant halide anion (F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻ and I⁻). Complex halide minerals may also have polyatomic anions in addition to or that include halides.

Halite

Fluorite structure

Examples include the following:

• Halite NaCl
• Sylvite KCl
• Chlorargyrite AgCl and bromargyrite AgBr
• Fluorite CaF₂
• Atacamite Cu₂Cl(OH)₃
• Bischofite (MgCl₂·6H₂O)
• Carnallite KMgCl₃·6H₂O
• Cryolite Na₃AlF₆
• Cryptohalite (α)(NH₄)₂SiF₆
• Bararite (β)(NH₄)₂SiF₆

Commercially significant halide minerals

Two commercially important halide minerals are halite and fluorite. The former is a major source of sodium chloride, in parallel with sodium chloride extracted from sea water or brine wells. Fluorite is a major source of hydrogen fluoride, complementing the supply obtained as a byproduct of the production of fertilizer. Carnallite and bischofite are important sources of magnesium. Natural cryolite was historically required for the production of aluminium, however, currently most cryolite used is produced synthetically.

Many of the halide minerals occur in marine evaporite deposits. The Atacama Desert also has large quantities of halide minerals as well as chlorates, iodates, oxyhalides and the like as well as nitrates, borates and other water-soluble minerals—not only underground but it crusts on the surface due to the low rainfall—the Atacama is the world's driest desert as well as one of the oldest (25 million years)

Nickel–Strunz Classification -03- Halides

IMA-CNMNC proposes a new hierarchical scheme (Mills et al., 2009). This list uses the Classification of Nickel–Strunz (mindat.org, 10 ed, pending publication).

• Abbreviations:
  • "*" - discredited (IMA/CNMNC status).
  • "?" - questionable/doubtful (IMA/CNMNC status).
  • "REE" - Rare-earth element (Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu)
  • "PGE" - Platinum-group element (Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt)
  • 03.C Aluminofluorides, 06 Borates, 08 Vanadates (04.H V^[5,6] Vanadates), 09 Silicates:
    • Neso: insular (from Greek νησος nēsos, island)
    • Soro: grouping (from Greek σωροῦ sōros, heap, mound (especially of corn))
    • Cyclo: ring
    • Ino: chain (from Greek ις [genitive: ινος inos], fibre)
    • Phyllo: sheet (from Greek φύλλον phyllon, leaf)
    • Tekto: three-dimensional framework
• Nickel–Strunz code scheme: NN.XY.##x
  • NN: Nickel–Strunz mineral class number
  • X: Nickel–Strunz mineral division letter
  • Y: Nickel–Strunz mineral family letter
  • ##x: Nickel–Strunz mineral/group number, x add-on letter

Class: halides

Halide specimens at Museum of Geology, South Dakota

• 03.A Simple halides, without H₂O
  • 03.AA M:X = 1:1, 2:3, 3:5, etc.: Panichiite; 05 Nantokite, 05 Marshite, 05 Miersite; 10 Iodargyrite, 10 Tocornalite; 15 Bromargyrite, 15 Embolite*, 15 Chlorargyrite; 20 Carobbiite, 20 Griceite, 20 Halite, 20 Sylvite, 20 Villiaumite; 25 Salammoniac, 25 Lafossaite; 30 Calomel, 30 Kuzminite, 30 Moschelite; 35 Neighborite; 40 Chlorocalcite, 45 Kolarite, 50 Radhakrishnaite; 55 Hephaistosite, 55 Challacolloite
  • 03.AB M:X = 1:2: 05 Tolbachite, 10 Coccinite, 15 Sellaite; 20 Chloromagnesite*, 20 Lawrencite, 20 Scacchite; 25 Frankdicksonite, 25 Fluorite; 30 Tveitite-(Y); 35 Gagarinite-(Y); 35 Zajacite-(Ce)
  • 03.AC M:X = 1:3: 05 Zharchikhite, 10 Molysite; 15 Fluocerite-(Ce), 15 Fluocerite-(La), 20 Gananite
• 03.B Simple Halides, with H₂O
  • 03.BA M:X = 1:1 and 2:3: 05 Hydrohalite, 10 Carnallite
  • 03.BB M:X = 1:2: 05 Eriochalcite, 10 Rokuhnite, 15 Bischofite, 20 Nickelbischofite, 25 Sinjarite, 30 Antarcticite, 35 Tachyhydrite
  • 03.BC M:X = 1:3: 05 Chloraluminite
  • 03.BD Simple Halides with H₂O and additional OH: 05 Cadwaladerite, 10 Lesukite, 15 Korshunovskite, 20 Nepskoeite, 25 Koenenite
• 03.C Complex Halides
  • 03.C: Steropesite, IMA2008-032, IMA2008-039
  • 03.CA Borofluorides: 05 Ferruccite; 10 Avogadrite, 10 Barberiite
  • 03.CB Neso-aluminofluorides: 05 Cryolithionite; 15 Cryolite, 15 Elpasolite, 15 Simmonsite; 20 Colquiriite, 25 Weberite, 30 Karasugite, 35 Usovite; 40 Pachnolite, 40 Thomsenolite; 45 Carlhintzeite, 50 Yaroslavite
  • 03.CC Soro-aluminofluorides: 05 Gearksutite; 10 Acuminite, 10 Tikhonenkovite; 15 Artroeite; 20 Calcjarlite, 20 Jarlite, 20 Jorgensenite
  • 03.CD Ino-aluminofluorides: 05 Rosenbergite, 10 Prosopite
  • 03.CE Phyllo-aluminofluorides: 05 Chiolite
  • 03.CF Tekto-aluminofluorides: 05 Ralstonite, 10 Boldyrevite?, 15 Bogvadite
  • 03.CG Aluminofluorides with CO₃, SO₄, PO₄: 05 Stenonite; 10 Chukhrovite-(Nd), 10 Chukhrovite-(Ce), 10 Chukhrovite-(Y), 10 Meniaylovite; 15 Creedite, 20 Boggildite, 25 Thermessaite
  • 03.CH: 05 Malladrite, 10 Bararite; 15 Cryptohalite, 15 Hieratite; 20 Demartinite, 25 Knasibfite
  • 03.CJ With MX₆ complexes; M = Fe, Mn, Cu: 05 Chlormanganokalite, 05 Rinneite; 10 Erythrosiderite, 10 Kremersite; 15 Mitscherlichite, 20 Douglasite, 30 Zirklerite
• 03.D Oxyhalides, Hydroxyhalides and Related Double Halides
  • 03.DA With Cu, etc., without Pb: 05 Melanothallite; 10a Atacamite, 10a Kempite, 10a Hibbingite, 10b Botallackite, 10b Clinoatacamite, 10b Belloite, 10c Gillardite, 10c Kapellasite, 10c Haydeeite, 10c Paratacamite, 10c Herbertsmithite; 15 Claringbullite, 20 Simonkolleite; 25 Buttgenbachite, 25 Connellite; 30 Abhurite, 35 Ponomarevite; 40 Calumetite, 40 Anthonyite; 45 Khaidarkanite, 50 Bobkingite, 55 Avdoninite, 60 Droninoite
  • 03.DB With Pb, Cu, etc.: 05 Diaboleite, 10 Pseudoboleite, 15 Boleite, 20 Cumengite, 25 Bideauxite, 30 Chloroxiphite, 35 Hematophanite; 40 Asisite, 40 Parkinsonite; 45 Murdochite, 50 Yedlinite
  • 03.DC With Pb (As, Sb, Bi), without Cu: 05 Laurionite, 05 Paralaurionite; 10 Fiedlerite, 15 Penfieldite, 20 Laurelite; 25 Zhangpeishanite, 25 Matlockite, 25 Rorisite, 25 Daubreeite, 25 Bismoclite, 25 Zavaritskite; 30 Nadorite, 30 Perite; 35 Aravaipaite, 37 Calcioaravaipaite, 40 Thorikosite, 45 Mereheadite, 50 Blixite, 55 Pinalite, 60 Symesite; 65 Ecdemite, 65 Heliophyllite; 70 Mendipite, 75 Damaraite, 80 Onoratoite, 85 Cotunnite, 90 Pseudocotunnite, 95 Barstowite
  • 03.DD With Hg: 05 Eglestonite, 05 Kadyrelite; 10 Poyarkovite, 15 Hanawaltite, 20 Terlinguaite, 25 Pinchite; 30 Mosesite, 30 Gianellaite; 35 Kleinite, 40 Tedhadleyite, 45 Vasilyevite, 50 Aurivilliusite, 55 Terlinguacreekite, 60 Kelyanite, 65 Comancheite
  • 03.DE With Rare-Earth Elements: 05 Haleniusite-(La)
• 03.X Unclassified Strunz Halogenides
  • 03.XX Unknown: 00 Hydrophilite?, 00 Hydromolysite?, 00 Yttrocerite*, 00 Lorettoite?, 00 IMA2009-014, 00 IMA2009-015

External links

• Handbook of Mineralogy