SERPIERITE

    Class : Sulfates, chromates, molybdates
    Subclass : Hydrated sulfates
    Crystal system : Monoclinic
    Chemistry : Ca(Cu,Zn)4(SO4)2(OH)6 3H2O
    Rarity : Rare

Serpierite is a hydrated sulfate present in the oxidation zone of polymetallic deposits, along with other secondary copper and zinc minerals, smithsonite and linarite in particular. It is also a mineral of industrial slag. It was named in honor of Gianbattista Serpieri, an Italian mining engineer who revived the exploitation of the old mines of Lavrion (Greece). Serpierite forms tiny lamellar crystals grouped in bushy aggregates, in globular or botryoidal masses, of a sky blue color, sometimes bluish green.

Main photo : Serpierite from Chessy, Rhône, France © Yannick Vessely

Serpierite from San Pietro Mine, Sardinia, Italy © Italo Campostrini
Serpierite and rosasite from Kamariza Mine, Laurion, Greece © Gianfranco Ciccolini
Serpierite from La Sanguinède, St-Laurent-le-Minier, Gard, France © Yannick Vessely
Serpierite and malachite from Chessy, Rhône, France © Alpinisme et Mineraux

Serpierite in the World

Serpierite is a rare mineral known in millimeter crystals in the Lavrion mines (Greece) and in several other deposits scattered throughout the world such as Tsumeb (Namibia), Otono (Mexico), Leopold mine (Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo), Ramsbeck (Germany), Akshagil (Kazakhstan), etc...

Serpierite in France

In France, serpierite is known in Chessy (Rhône), Villefranche-de-Rouergue (Aveyron), St-Laurent-le-Minier (Gard) and Cap Garonne (Var), as well as in the slags of Vialas (Lozère), Poullaouen (Finistère), Crozet (Loire) and Couëron (Loire-Atlantique).

Twinning

No known twinning for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes listed for this mineral species.


Hardness : 2
Density : 3.07
Fracture : Splintery
Streak : White to pale blue

TP : Transparent
RI : 1.584 to 1.647
Birefringence : 0.063
Optical character : Biaxial -
Pleochroism : Visible
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Acids

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None