Veblenite, K2☐2Na(Fe2+5Fe3+4Mn2+7☐)Nb3Ti(Si2O7)2(Si8O22)2O6(OH)10(H2O)3, a new mineral from Seal Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador: mineral description, crystal structure, and a new veblenite Si8O22ribbon
Authors: Cámara F. , Sokolova E. , Hawthorne F. C. , Rowe R. , Grice J. D. , Tait K. T. 
Published: November 2013

Veblenite, ideally K2☐2Na(Fe2+5Fe3+4Mn2+7☐)Nb3Ti(Si2O7)2(Si8O22)2O6(OH)10(H2O)3, is a new mineral with no natural or synthetic analogues. The mineral occurs at Ten Mile Lake, Seal Lake area, Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), in a band of paragneiss consisting chiefly of albite and arfvedsonite. Veblenite occurs as red brown single laths and fibres included in feldspar. Associated minerals are niobophyllite, albite, arfvedsonite, aegirine-augite, barylite, eudidymite, neptunite, Mn-rich pectolite, pyrochlore, sphalerite and galena. Veblenite has perfect cleavage on {001} and splintery fracture. Its calculated density is 3.046 g cm–3. Veblenite is biaxial negative with α 1.676(2), β 1.688(2), γ 1.692(2) (λ 590 nm), 2Vmeas= 65(1)°, 2Vcalc= 59.6°, with no discernible dispersion. It is pleochroic in the following pattern:X= black,Y= black,Z= orange-brown. The mineral is red-brown with a vitreous, translucent lustre and very pale brown streak. It does not fluoresce under short and long-wave UV-light. Veblenite is triclicnic, space groupP,a5.3761(3),b27.5062(11),c18.6972(9) Å, α 140.301(3), β 93.033(3), γ 95.664(3)°,V= 1720.96(14) Å3. The strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern [d(Å)(I)(hkl)] are: 16.894(100)(010), 18.204(23)(01), 4.271(9)(, 040, 120), 11.661(8)(001), 2.721(3)(), 4.404(3)(,), 4.056(3)(031, 12;,), 3.891(2)(003).

The chemical composition of veblenite from a combination of electron microprobe analysis and structural determination for H2O and the Fe2+/Fe3+ratio is Nb2O511.69, TiO22.26, SiO235.71, Al2O30.60, Fe2O310.40, FeO 11.58, MnO 12.84, ZnO 0.36, MgO 0.08, BaO 1.31, SrO 0.09, CaO 1.49, Cs2O 0.30, K2O 1.78, Na2O 0.68, H2O 4.39, F 0.22, O = F –0.09, sum 95.69 wt.%. The empirical formula [based on 20 (Al+Si) p. f. u. is (K0.53Ba0.28Sr0.03☐0.16)Σ1(K0.72Cs0.07☐1.21)Σ2(Na0.72Ca0.17☐1.11)Σ2(Fe2+5.32Fe3+4.13Mn2+5.97Ca0.70Zn0.15Mg0.07☐0.66)Σ17(Nb2.90Ti0.93Fe3+0.17)Σ4(Si19.61Al0.39)Σ20O77.01H16.08F0.38. The simplified formula is (K, Ba, ☐)3(☐, Na)2(Fe2+, Fe3+, Mn2+)17(Nb,Ti)4(Si2O7)2(Si8O22)2O6(OH)10(H2O)3. The infrared spectrum of the mineral contains the following bands (cm–1): 453, 531, 550, 654 and 958, with shoulders at 1070, 1031 and 908. A broad absorption was observed between ~3610 and 3300 with a maximum at ~3525. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined to anR1index of 9.1%. In veblenite, the main structural unit is an HOH layer, which consists of the octahedral (O) and two heteropolyhedral (H) sheets. The H sheet is composed of Si2O7groups, veblenite Si8O22ribbons and Nb-dominant D octahedra. This is the first occurrence of an eight-membered Si8O22ribbon in a mineral crystal structure. In the O sheet, (Fe2+, Fe3+, Mn2+) octahedra share common edges to form a modulated O sheet parallel to (001). HOH layers connectviacommon vertices of D octahedra and cations at the interstitialA(1,2) andBsites. In the intermediate space between two adjacent HOH layers, theA(1) site is occupied mainly by K; theA(2) site is partly occupied by K and H2O groups, theBsite is partly occupied by Na. The crystal structure of veblenite is related to several HOH structures: jinshanjiangite, niobophyllite (astrophyllite group) and nafertisite. The mineral is named in honour of David R. Veblen in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the fields of mineralogy and crystallography.