Quijarroite, Cu6HgPb2Bi4Se12, a New Selenide from the El Dragόn Mine, Bolivia

Quijarroite, ideally Cu6HgPb2Bi4Se12, is a new selenide species from the El Dragόn mine, Department of Potosí, Bolivia. It most frequently occurs as lath-shaped thin plates (up to 150 µm in length and 20 µm in width) intimately (subparallel) intergrown with hansblockite, forming an angular network-like intersertal texture. Quijarroite is occasionally also present as sub- to anhedral grains up to 200 µm in length and 50 µm in width. It is non-fluorescent, black and opaque with a metallic luster and black streak. It is brittle, with an irregular fracture and no obvious cleavage and parting. In plane-polarized incident light, quijarroite is weakly pleochroic from cream to very slightly more brownish-cream, displaying no internal reflections. Between crossed polars, quijarroite is moderately anisotropic with pale orange-brown to blue rotation tints. Lamellar twinning on {110} is common; parquet twinning occurs rarely. The reflectance values in the air for the COM (Commission on Ore Mineralogy) standard wavelengths (R1 and R2) are: 46.7, 46.8 (470 nm), 47.4, 48.2 (546 nm), 47.1, 48.5 (589 nm), and 46.6, 48.7 (650 nm). Electron-microprobe analyses yielded a mean composition of Cu 13.34, Ag 1.02, Hg 7.67, Pb 16.87, Co 0.03, Ni 0.15, Bi 27.65, Se 33.52, total 100.24 wt %. The mean empirical formula, normalized to 25 apfu (atoms per formula unit), is (Cu5.84Ag0.26)Σ = 6.10(Hg1.06Ni0.07Co0.01)Σ = 1.14Pb2.27Bi3.68Se11.81 (n = 24). The simplified formula is Cu6HgPb2Bi4Se12. Quijarroite is orthorhombic, space group Pmn21, with a = 9.2413(8), b = 9.0206(7), c = 9.6219(8) Å, V = 802.1(1) Å3, Z = 1. The calculated density is 5.771 g·cm−3. The five strongest X-ray powder-diffraction lines (d in Å (I/I0) (hkl)) are: 5.36 (55) (111), 3.785 (60) (211), 3.291 (90) (022), 3.125 (100) (212), and 2.312 (50) (400). The crystal structure of quijarroite can be considered a galena derivative and could be derived from that of bournonite. It is a primary mineral, deposited from an oxidizing low-T hydrothermal fluid at a f S e 2 / f S 2 ratio greater than unity. The new species has been approved by the IMA-CNMNC (2016-052) and is named for the Quijarro Province in Bolivia, in which the El Dragón mine is located.