FERRINATRITE

    Class : Sulfates, chromates, molybdates
    Subclass : Hydrated sulfates
    Crystal system : Trigonal
    Chemistry : Na3Fe(SO4)3 3H2O
    Rarity : Uncommon

Ferrinatrite is a double sulfate of sodium and iron. It is a rare secondary mineral, formed by alteration of iron sulphides, mainly in arid climates. It is also found in fumarolic deposits. It is part of a classic mineralogical procession to which other iron sulphates belong (melanterite, jarosite, coquimbite, botryogen, etc...) which, like it, result from precipitation from "natural" sulfuric acid, formed by reaction of surface water with iron sulphides. By changing environmental conditions (temperature, pH, redox potential, etc...) these sulfates are easily hydrolyzed into ferric hydroxides (goethite-limonite). Its name comes from its chemical composition : iron + sodium (natrium in Latin). Ferrinatrite occurs in the form of short prismatic crystals, cleavable masses or fibrous aggregates, colorless, white or yellow.

Main photo : Ferrinatrite from Le Cetine di Cotorniano Mine, Chiusdino, Siena Province, Tuscany, Italy © Giuseppe Finello

Ferrinatrite from Sierra Gorda, Chile © Gianfranco Ciccolini
Ferrinatrite from Sierra Gorda, Chile © Luigi Chiappino
Ferrinatrite from Le Cetine di Cotorniano Mine, Tuscany, Italy © Enrico Bonacina
Ferrinatrite from Coronel Manuel Rodríguez mine, Chile © Stephan Wolfsried

Ferrinatrite in the World

Ferrinatrite is essentially a Chilean mineral: the most beautiful samples are centimeter-sized crystals which come from the large copper porphyries of Sierra Gorda (Atacama, Chile) where it was first described, from Chuquicamata and Alcaparrosa. It is also known in the volcanic fumaroles of Vesuvius (Italy).

Ferrinatrite in France

Ferrinatrite is not present in the French underground.

Twinning

No twin known for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes recorded for this mineral species.


Hardness : 2.5
Density : 2.55 to 2.61
Fracture : Irregular
Streak : White

TP : Transparent
RI : 1.556 to 1.613
Birefringence : 0.054
Optical character : Uniaxial +
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Water


Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None

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