Luigi Chiappino of Systematica called up a new mineral today - Albertiniite - to be added to the mineral database.
This new species recently approved and published by the IMA is quite a straight forward iron(II) sulphite, formula - Fe2+(SO3)·3H2O.
The name has been given to honour of Claudio Albertini (1950 - 2018), an Italian collector and systematic mineralogy specialist for the Alps and pegmatite locations.
The mineral was discovered in the dumps at the Monte Falò lead zinc mine near Coiromonte, Verbano Cusio Ossola Province, Piedmont, Italy, where it was spotted on the surface of fractures in mineralised quartz veins and associated chlorite-schist host.
Dumps at Monte Falò - (Alfiere Nero photo)
 |
The mining at Monte Falò was mainly for galena with some sphalerite and arsenopyrite.
The albertiniite is found in association with stolzite, pyromorphite, hinsdalite, plumbogummite, gibbsite, scheelite, plus jarosite. The paragenesis is as an intermediate product of oxidation between iron bearing sulphide minerals (pyrite and arsenopyrite) and fully oxidised sulphate minerals, eg jarosite.
Albertiniite was found as yellowish prismatic monoclinic crystals to 0.7 mm, often with a skin of brownish amorphous iron oxides.
The specimen offered by Luigi is poignantly presented with Claudio Albertini's signed label, poignant because sadly Claudio has very recently passed away. RIP
