Oellacherite (original) (raw)

About OellacheriteHide

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Formula:

KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2

Lustre:

Sub-Vitreous, Pearly

Specific Gravity:

2.884 - 2.994

Name:

Named in 1867 by James Dwight Dana in honor of Josef Oellacher [February 16, 1804 Pressburg, Austria - August 16, 1880 Innsbruck, Austria], a chemical pharmacist who first investigated a similar mineral (Oellacher, 1862) and thought it was margarite. The original oellacherite was from Kemmat, Sterzing (Vipiteno), Vizze Valley (Pfitsch Valley), Bolzano Province (South Tyrol), Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. Because true margarite was discovered near Mt. Grenier, about 19 km distant from the oellacherite locality, there was some confusion that the two micas might be equivalent. Oellacher's (1862) chemical analysis was clearly not consistent with margarite (Des Cloizeaux, 1867), but it was unusual in its chemistry containing Ba, Na, Ca, etc. Des Cloizeaux's specimens were sent to him by Karl Rammelsberg labeled "Baryt-glimmer" and their optic properties seemed more consistent with muscovite. The chemical anomaly prompted Dana to re-name the species oellacherite. In 1933, Lawson H. Bauer and Harry Berman studied "oellacherite" from Franklin, New Jersey, USA, and re-named it, "barium muscovite", for its chemical relationship to muscovite, but the mineral studied was not Ba-dominant, either, although it too had anomalous chemical and physical properties.

Unique IdentifiersHide

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Mindat ID:

10596 (as Oellacherite)
2815 (as Muscovite)

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:10596:7 (as Oellacherite)
mindat:1:1:2815:4 (as Muscovite)

c74fcd9d-0c62-4097-a706-0c79c99e5f69 (as Oellacherite)
6555d00d-e8c3-4485-9209-15e6b685a47f (as Muscovite)

Physical Properties of OellacheriteHide

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Density:

2.884 - 2.994 g/cm3 (Measured)

Chemistry of OellacheriteHide

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Mindat Formula:

KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2

Geological EnvironmentHide

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Geological Setting:

Fine-grained granular dolomite.

Common AssociatesHide

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Associated Minerals Based on Photo Data:

Other InformationHide

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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 OellacheriteHide

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References for OellacheriteHide

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Localities for OellacheriteHide

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This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

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- 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). Struck out - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.