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Clearcreekite is an extremely rare mineral found only at the Clear Creek mercury mine, New Idria district, San Benito County, California (longitude: 120°43′58″W and latitude 36°22′59″N). The mineral was named after the locality where it was found. The mine has produced about 29 mercury minerals, most
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Only two crystals of clearcreekite have ever been found. The longest of them is only 0.17mm and they exhibit tabular, subhedral habit. Clearcreekite is transparent with a pale greenish yellow color and streak, vitreous luster, good cleavage on {001} and it is brittle with uneven fracture. Since the
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from the (previously) overriding plate was replaced by silica-carbonate deposits (including cinnabar and mercury) due to the action of hydrothermal fluids. The sequence of mineral formations given by
Dunning et al. (2005) show that the rare mercury minerals, including clearcreekite, are very late
480:
crystals are too small to perform accurate measurements, the hardness of clearcreekite is estimated to be about 2 (because the crystals are highly sensitive to an electron beam) and its density (calculated from the ideal formula) is 6.96 g/cm.
758:
Smith, C.N., Kesler, S.E., Blum, J.D., and Rytuba, J.J. (2008) Isotope geochemistry of mercury in source rocks, mineral deposits and spring deposits of the
California Coast Ranges, USA. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 269,
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Dunning, G.E., Hadley, T.A., Magnasco, J., Christy, A.G., and Cooper Jr., J.F. (2005) The Clear Creek Mine, San Benito County, California: A unique mercury locality. The
Mineralogical Record, 36, 337-363.
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The structures of clearcreekite and peterbaylissite are very different but they still are chemically identical. One unique property about them is that the mercury ion does not occur as the mercury(I) ion
749:
Kim, C.S., Brown Jr., G.E., and Rytuba, J.J. (2000) Characterization and speciation of mercury-bearing mine wastes using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The
Science of the Total Environment, 261, 157-168.
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of them unique to this area. In 1853, cinnabar was discovered in the region and extensive mining was conducted at the New Idria district. Today the district and the Clear Creek mine are abandoned.
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crystals and good cleavage on {001}. It is transparent with vitreous luster and uneven fracture. Its density (calculated from the idealized formula) is 6.96 g/cm. The mineral is
350:, and clearcreekite are among the new and unique minerals first collected by Mr. Oyler. Some of the minerals share physical characteristics like color and habit but their
471:), β 105.53(5)º, V 682.1(6) Ǻ(cubic angstroms), a:b:c= 0.7056:1:1.1410. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern is very distinctive and unlike any other mineral.
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2/m, 2/m, 2/m, meanwhile clearcreekite is monoclinic; 2/m. The chemical composition of clearcreekite was obtained after analyzing one of the crystals: Hg
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precipitates in the sequence. The crystals of clearcreekite were originally found on a silica-carbonate rock near specimens of cinnabar and edoylerite.
689:
Roberts, A.C., Groat, L.A., Raudsepp, M., Ercit T.S., Erd, R.C., Moffatt, E.A., and
Stirling J.A.R. (2001) Clearcreekite, a new polymorph of Hg
326:, named on his honor, was properly described by Erd et al.(1993). For more than 20 years Mr. Oyler collected minerals from the same location;
790:
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O. It is a polymorph of peterbaylissite. The article about peterbaylissite written by
Roberts et al. (1995) describe this mineral as
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264:
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In 1959, Mr. Edward H. Oyler found a strange-looking mineral in the Clear Creek mercury mine. More than 30 years passed until
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O, a new mineral species from the Clear Creek claim, San Benito County, California. The
Canadian Mineralogist, 33, 47-53.
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Roberts, A.C., Ercit, T.S., Groat, L.A., Criddle, A.J., Erd, R.C., and
Williams, R.S. (1995) Peterbaylissite, Hg
355:
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S, a new mineral from the Clear Creek claim, San Benito County, California. Mineralogical Record, 24, 471-475.
68:
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Erd, R.C., Roberts, A.C., Bonardi, M., Criddle, A.J., Le Page, Y., and Gabe, E. J. (1993) Edoylerite, Hg
303:
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consist of one central carbon atom surrounded by three oxygen atoms and the molecule easily adheres to
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O from the Clear Creek claim, San Benito County, California. The
Canadian Mineralogist, 39, 779-784.
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Jambor, J.L. and
Roberts, A.C. (2002) New mineral names. American Mineralogist, 87, 355-358.
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443:. Clearcreekite and peterbaylissite are classified as pure carbonate-bearing minerals with H
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310:. It was probably formed after the alteration of other mercury minerals such as
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differ slightly from the percentages calculated using the idealized formula: H
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data. Clearcreekite is an extremely rare hydrous mercury carbonate mineral.
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P2/c. Clearcreekite is an extremely rare mineral from the Clear Creek
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O. It has a pale greenish yellow color and streak with tabular
314:. The mineral is named after the locality where it was found.
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Mercury deposits in California are located mainly along the
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parameters are: a 6.760(4), b 9.580(4), c 10.931(4) Ǻ (
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O= 6.3%. The only elements observed in the study were
492:. The deposits are related to the transition of the
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271:. The chemical formula of clearcreekite is Hg
8:
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366:The chemical formula of clearcreekite is Hg
455:. The structure of clearcreekite presents
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16:Rare mercury(I) basic carbonate mineral
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354:is completely different, as shown by
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541:"IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols"
398:O= 6.3%. The results given by the
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459:between the carbonate and the
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308:San Benito County, California
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791:Minerals in space group 14
439:, but as an Hg ion in an
356:X-ray powder diffraction
517:Special characteristics
599:Handbook of Mineralogy
545:Mineralogical Magazine
225:6.96 g/cm (calculated)
79:Strunz classification
494:North American Plate
215:pale greenish yellow
142:pale greenish yellow
786:Monoclinic minerals
781:Mercury(I) minerals
566:10.1180/mgm.2021.43
557:2021MinM...85..291W
539:Warr, L.N. (2021).
484:Geologic occurrence
475:Physical properties
400:electron microprobe
776:Carbonate minerals
304:New Idria district
230:Optical properties
152:tabular, subhedral
490:San Andreas Fault
352:crystal structure
261:carbonate mineral
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36:Carbonate mineral
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457:hydrogen bonding
239:Refractive index
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105:Prismatic (2/m)
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47:(repeating unit)
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588:Mineralienatlas
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340:peterbaylissite
332:edgarbaileyrite
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269:peterbaylissite
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551:(3): 291–320.
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500:boundary from
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447:O and OH. The
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134:Identification
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89:Crystal system
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498:Pacific Plate
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406:O= 87.54%, CO
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390:O= 84.65%, CO
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328:deanesmithite
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257:Clearcreekite
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162:good on {001}
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148:Crystal habit
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101:Crystal class
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22:Clearcreekite
20:
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510:serpentinite
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380:orthorhombic
365:
344:szymanskiite
321:
265:polymorphous
256:
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123:
384:point group
362:Composition
336:hanawaltite
293:space group
119:Space group
770:Categories
621:Webmineral
526:References
502:converging
449:carbonates
410:= 6.16%, H
394:= 6.16%, H
348:wattersite
324:edoylerite
289:monoclinic
248:References
195:probably 2
188:Mohs scale
110:H-M symbol
94:Monoclinic
69:IMA symbol
575:235729616
506:transform
469:angstroms
465:unit cell
430:Structure
382:with the
291:with the
285:subhedral
759:399-407.
733:)(OH)∙2H
697:)(OH)∙2H
496:and the
461:hydroxyl
453:hydrogen
312:cinnabar
205:vitreous
191:hardness
178:Tenacity
168:Fracture
158:Cleavage
32:Category
553:Bibcode
441:oxysalt
416:mercury
374:(OH)∙2H
318:History
297:mercury
279:(OH)∙2H
233:biaxial
221:Density
182:brittle
83:5.DC.30
59:(OH)∙2H
43:Formula
27:General
610:Mindat
573:
508:. The
463:. The
424:oxygen
422:, and
420:carbon
211:Streak
201:Luster
172:uneven
108:(same
571:S2CID
267:with
259:is a
139:Color
300:mine
243:n =
729:(CO
693:(CO
659:CrO
561:doi
504:to
73:Cck
772::
742:^
718:^
706:^
668:^
627:^
569:.
559:.
549:85
547:.
543:.
435:Hg
426:.
418:,
370:CO
346:,
342:,
338:,
334:,
330:,
306:,
302:,
275:CO
263:,
129:/c
124:P2
55:CO
51:Hg
735:2
731:3
727:3
699:2
695:3
691:3
661:4
657:3
577:.
563::
555::
445:2
437:2
412:2
408:2
404:2
396:2
392:2
388:2
376:2
372:3
368:3
281:2
277:3
273:3
127:1
112:)
63:O
61:2
57:3
53:3
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