| Shattuckite | |
| Category: | Inosilicate |
| Strunz: | 9.DB.40 |
| Formula: | Cu5(SiO3)4(OH)2 |
| Imasymbol: | Sha[1] |
| System: | Orthorhombic |
| Class: | Dipyramidal (mmm) H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) |
| Symmetry: | Pcab |
| Color: | Dark and light blue, turquoise |
| Habit: | Commonly spherulitic aggregates of acicular crystals |
| Cleavage: | perfect along [010] and [100] |
| Fracture: | uneven |
| Mohs: | 3.5 |
| Luster: | Dull to silky |
| Refractive: | nα = 1.753, nβ = 1.782, nγ = 1.815 |
| Opticalprop: | Biaxial (+) |
| Pleochroism: | X = very pale blue; Y = pale blue; Z = deep blue |
| Streak: | Blue |
| Gravity: | 4.1 (rather heavy for a non-metallic mineral) |
| Diaphaneity: | Translucent to opaque |
| References: | [2] [3] [4] |
Shattuckite is a copper silicate hydroxide mineral with formula Cu5(SiO3)4(OH)2. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic – dipyramidal crystal system and usually occurs in a granular massive form and also as fibrous acicular crystals. It is closely allied to plancheite in structure and appearance.
Shattuckite is a relatively rare copper silicate mineral. It was first discovered in 1915 in the copper mines of Bisbee, Arizona, specifically the Shattuck Mine (hence the name). It is a secondary mineral that forms from the alteration of other secondary minerals. At the Shattuck Mine, it forms pseudomorphs after malachite. A pseudomorph is an atom by atom replacement of a crystal structure by another crystal structure, but with little alteration of the outward shape of the original crystal. It is sometimes used as a gemstone.[5]