General Information:
Chemical Formula:
Cu3Te++++++O4(OH)4
Composition:
(Molecular Weight = 450.26 gm)
Copper 42.34 % Cu
Tellurium 28.34 % Te
Hydrogen 0.90 % H
Oxygen 28.43 % O
Empirical Formula:
Cu3(TeO4)(OH)4
Environment:
In cracks in altered rhyolite.
IMA Status:
Approved IMA 1975
Locality:
Bambollita mine, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico.
Name Origin:
Named for the Nahuatl for "bunches of grapes", in allusion to the appearance of the green spherules of the mineral.
Physical Properties:
Color:
green or emerald green.
Density:
4.65
Habits:
Spherical - Spherical, rounded aggregates., Botryoidal - "Grape-like" rounded forms (e.g.. malachite)., Radial - Crystals radiate from a center without producing stellar forms (e.g. s tibnite)
Hardness:
4 - Fluorite
Luminescence:
Non-fluorescent.
Streak:
light green
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