File:Hemimorphite (Wenshan Mine, Yunnan, China) 1 (33993573012).jpg

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A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5400 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.

The silicates are the most abundant and chemically complex group of minerals. All silicates have silica as the basis for their chemistry. "Silica" refers to SiO2 chemistry. The fundamental molecular unit of silica is one small silicon atom surrounded by four large oxygen atoms in the shape of a triangular pyramid - this is the silica tetrahedron - SiO4. Each oxygen atom is shared by two silicon atoms, so only half of the four oxygens "belong" to each silicon. The resulting formula for silica is thus SiO2, not SiO4.

The simplest & most abundant silicate mineral in the Earth's crust is quartz (SiO2). All other silicates have silica + impurities. Many silicates have a significant percentage of aluminum (the aluminosilicates).

Hemimorphite is a hydrous zinc hydroxysilicate mineral (Zn4(Si2O7)(OH)2·H2O). It is a secondary mineral found associated with zinc-rich rocks that have been exposed to surface or near-surface weathering & oxidation.

The lovely blue-colored hemimorphite shown here is from a zinc mine in Yunnan, China.

Locality: Wenshan Mine, Yunnan Province, southwestern China


See site-specific info. at: <a href="https://www.mindat.org/loc-21241.html" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.mindat.org/loc-21241.html</a>


Photo gallery of hemimorphite:

<a href="https://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=1860" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=1860</a>
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Source Hemimorphite (Wenshan Mine, Yunnan, China) 1
Author James St. John

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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James St. John at https://flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/33993573012 (archive). It was reviewed on 5 December 2019 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

5 December 2019

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current13:34, 5 December 2019Thumbnail for version as of 13:34, 5 December 20193,125 × 2,435 (3.76 MB)Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs)Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons

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