Opal R060652 - RRUFF Database: Raman, X-ray, Infrared, and Chemistry

Important Update News

The RRUFF Project is being updated to improve its interface and content. The beta version of the update is accessible to the public at RRUFF.net. New data is only being added to the beta site. Please note that it is in development, and some components are not functional. Existing RRUFF.info links will resolve to the new site after RRUFF.net is officially released.

We are grateful to NASA for the funding of this effort.

Opal R060652

Name: Opal
RRUFF ID: R060652
Ideal Chemistry: SiO₂·nH₂O
Locality: Ethiopia
Source: Gemological Institute of America 23128 [view label]
Owner: RRUFF
Description: Colorless cloudy glassy fragment, variety opal-C
Status: The identification of this mineral has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis

Mineral Group: [ Amorphous (18) ]

Quick search: [ All Opal samples (11) ]

CHEMISTRY

RRUFF ID:	R060652.2
Sample Description:	Microprobe Fragment
Measured Chemistry:	(Si_0.98Al_0.02)(O_1.98(OH)_0.02)·0.57H₂O; OH estimated by charge balance; H₂O by difference
Microprobe Data File:	[ Download Excel File ]

RAMAN SPECTRUM

RRUFF ID:

Sample Description:

Unoriented sample

DOWNLOADS:

To download sample data,
please select a specific
orientation angle.

BROAD SCAN WITH SPECTRAL ARTIFACTS

RRUFF ID:

R060652

Wavelength:

Sample Description:

Unoriented sample

Instrument settings:

Thermo Almega XR 532nm @ 100% of 150mW

DOWNLOADS:

	Raman Data (RAW)
	RRUFF File

POWDER DIFFRACTION

RRUFF ID:

R060652.1

Sample Description:

Powder

File Type Information

Output file from the Bruker D8 Advance instrument. Includes device headers and XY data.

DOWNLOADS:

	X-ray Data (XY - RAW)
	RRUFF File

REFERENCES for Opal
Wallerius J G (1747) in Mineralogia, eller Mineralriket Stockholm [view file]
Hoffmann C A S (1789) Mineralsystem des Herrn Inspektor Werners mit dessen Erlaubnis herausgegeben von C A S Hoffmann, Bergmannisches Journal, 1, 369-398 [view file]
Sato M (1962) Tridymite crystals in opaline silica from Kusatsu, Gumma Prefecture, Mineralogical Journal, 3, 296-305 [view file]
Sun M S (1962) Tridymite (low form) in some opal of New Mexico, American Mineralogist, 47, 1453-1455 [view file]
Sanders J V (1975) Microstructure and crystallinity of gem opals, American Mineralogist, 60, 749-757 [view file]
Petruk W, Farrell D M, Laufer E E, Tremblay R J, Manning P G (1977) Nontronite and ferruginous opal from the Peace River iron deposit in Alberta, Canada, The Canadian Mineralogist, 15, 14-21 [view file]
de Jong B H W S, van Hoek J, Veeman W S, Manson D V (1987) X-ray diffraction and ²⁹Si magic-angle-spinning NMR of opals: incoherent long- and short-range order in opal-CT, American Mineralogist, 72, 1195-1203 [view file]
Drees L R, Wilding L P, Smeck N E, Senkayi A L (1989) Silica in soils: quartz and disordered silica polymorphs, in Minerals in Soil Environments Editor S B Weed. Soil Science Society of America Madison Wisconsin, USA 913-974
Elzea J M, Odom I E, Miles W J (1994) Distinguishing well ordered opal-CT and opal-C from high temperature cristobalite by x-ray diffraction, Analytica Chimica Acta, 286, 107-116 [view file]
Elzea J M, Odom I E, Miles W J (1994) Distinguishing well ordered opal-CT and opal-C from high temperature cristobalite by X-ray diffraction, Analytica Chimica Acta, 286, 107-116
Guthrie G D, Bish D L, Reynolds R C (1995) Modeling the X-ray diffraction pattern of opal-CT, American Mineralogist, 80, 869-872 [view file]
Elzea J M, Rice S B (1996) TEM and X-ray diffraction evidence for cristobalite and tridymite stacking sequences in opal, Clays and Clay Minerals, 44, 492-500
Nagase T, Akizuki M (1997) Texture and structure of opal-CT and opal-C in volcanic rocks, The Canadian Mineralogist, 35, 947-958 [view file]
Ostrooumov M, Fritsch E, Lasnier B, Lefrant S (1999) Spectres Raman des opales : aspect diagnostique et aide à la classification, European Journal of Mineralogy, 11, 899-908
Monger H C, Kelly E F (2002) Silica minerals, in Soil Mineralogy with Environmental Applications Soil Science Society of America Madison Wisconsin, USA 611-636
Rodgers K A, Hampton W A (2003) Laser Raman identification of silica phases comprising microtextural components of sinters, Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 1-13 [view file]
Smith B Y, Turner S J, Rodgers K A (2003) Opal-A and associated microbes from Wairakei, New Zealand: the first 300 days, Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 563-579 [view file]
Ilieva A, Mihailova B, Tsintsov Z, Petrov O (2007) Structural state of microcrystalline opals: a Raman spectroscopic study, American Mineralogist, 92, 1325-1333 [view file]
Pewkliang B, Pring A, Brugger J (2008) The formation of precious opal: Clues from the opalization of bone, The Canadian Mineralogist, 46, 139-149 [view file]
Othmane G, Allard T, Menguy N, Morin G, Esteve I, Fayek M, Calas G (2013) Evidence for nanocrystals of vorlanite, a rare uranate mineral, in the Nopal I low-temperature uranium deposit (Sierra Peña Blanca, Mexico), American Mineralogist, 98, 518-521
Rey P F (2013) Opalisation of the Great Artesian Basin (central Australia): an Australian story with a Martian twist, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60, 291-314
Liesegang M, Milke R (2014) Australian sedimentary opal-A and its associated minerals: Implications for natural silica sphere formation, American Mineralogist, 99, 1488
Eckert J, Gourdon O, Jacob D E, Meral C, Monteiro P J M, Vogel S C, Wirth R, Wenk H R (2015) Ordering of water in opals with different microstructures, European Journal of Mineralogy, 27, 203-213
Fritsch E, Megaw P K M, Spano T L, Chauviré B, Rondeau B, Gray M, Hainschwang T, Renfro N (2015) Green-luminescing hyalite opal from Zacatecas, Mexico, The Journal of Gemmology, 34, 490-508
Chauviré B, Rondeau B, Mangold N (2017) Near infrared signature of opal and chalcedony as a proxy for their structure and formation conditions, European Journal of Mineralogy, 29, 409-421
Martin E, Gaillou E (2018) Insight on gem opal formation in volcanic ash deposits from a supereruption: A case study through oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compostion of opals from Lake Tecopa, California, U.S.A., American Mineralogist, 103, 803-811
Yuan P, Liu D, Zhou J, Tian Q, Song Y, Wei H, Wang S, Zhou J, Deng L, Du P (2019) Identification of the occurrence of minor elements in the structure of diatomaceous opal using FIB and TEM-EDS, American Mineralogist, 104, 1323-1335
Ayalew D, Pik R, Gibson S, Yirgu G, Ali S, Assefa D (2020) Pedogenic origin of Mezezo opal hosted in Ethiopian Miocene rhyolites, The Canadian Mineralogist, 58, 231-246
Natkaniec-Nowak L, Dumańska-Słowik M, Gaweł A, Łatkiewicz A, Kowalczyk-Szpyt J, Wolska A, Milovská S, Luptáková J, Ładoń K (2020) Fire agate from the Deer Creek deposit (Arizona, USA) – new insights into structure and mineralogy, Mineralogical Magazine, 84, 343-354 [view file]
Lee S, Xu H, Xu H (2022) Reexamination of the structure of opal-A: A combined study of synchrotron X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis, American Mineralogist, 107, 1353-1360

REFERENCES for Opal

Wallerius J G (1747) in Mineralogia, eller Mineralriket Stockholm [view file]

Hoffmann C A S (1789) Mineralsystem des Herrn Inspektor Werners mit dessen Erlaubnis herausgegeben von C A S Hoffmann, Bergmannisches Journal, 1, 369-398 [view file]

Sato M (1962) Tridymite crystals in opaline silica from Kusatsu, Gumma Prefecture, Mineralogical Journal, 3, 296-305 [view file]

Sun M S (1962) Tridymite (low form) in some opal of New Mexico, American Mineralogist, 47, 1453-1455 [view file]

Sanders J V (1975) Microstructure and crystallinity of gem opals, American Mineralogist, 60, 749-757 [view file]

Petruk W, Farrell D M, Laufer E E, Tremblay R J, Manning P G (1977) Nontronite and ferruginous opal from the Peace River iron deposit in Alberta, Canada, The Canadian Mineralogist, 15, 14-21 [view file]

de Jong B H W S, van Hoek J, Veeman W S, Manson D V (1987) X-ray diffraction and ²⁹Si magic-angle-spinning NMR of opals: incoherent long- and short-range order in opal-CT, American Mineralogist, 72, 1195-1203 [view file]

Drees L R, Wilding L P, Smeck N E, Senkayi A L (1989) Silica in soils: quartz and disordered silica polymorphs, in Minerals in Soil Environments Editor S B Weed. Soil Science Society of America Madison Wisconsin, USA 913-974

Elzea J M, Odom I E, Miles W J (1994) Distinguishing well ordered opal-CT and opal-C from high temperature cristobalite by x-ray diffraction, Analytica Chimica Acta, 286, 107-116 [view file]

Elzea J M, Odom I E, Miles W J (1994) Distinguishing well ordered opal-CT and opal-C from high temperature cristobalite by X-ray diffraction, Analytica Chimica Acta, 286, 107-116

Guthrie G D, Bish D L, Reynolds R C (1995) Modeling the X-ray diffraction pattern of opal-CT, American Mineralogist, 80, 869-872 [view file]

Elzea J M, Rice S B (1996) TEM and X-ray diffraction evidence for cristobalite and tridymite stacking sequences in opal, Clays and Clay Minerals, 44, 492-500

Nagase T, Akizuki M (1997) Texture and structure of opal-CT and opal-C in volcanic rocks, The Canadian Mineralogist, 35, 947-958 [view file]

Ostrooumov M, Fritsch E, Lasnier B, Lefrant S (1999) Spectres Raman des opales : aspect diagnostique et aide à la classification, European Journal of Mineralogy, 11, 899-908

Monger H C, Kelly E F (2002) Silica minerals, in Soil Mineralogy with Environmental Applications Soil Science Society of America Madison Wisconsin, USA 611-636

Rodgers K A, Hampton W A (2003) Laser Raman identification of silica phases comprising microtextural components of sinters, Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 1-13 [view file]

Smith B Y, Turner S J, Rodgers K A (2003) Opal-A and associated microbes from Wairakei, New Zealand: the first 300 days, Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 563-579 [view file]

Ilieva A, Mihailova B, Tsintsov Z, Petrov O (2007) Structural state of microcrystalline opals: a Raman spectroscopic study, American Mineralogist, 92, 1325-1333 [view file]

Pewkliang B, Pring A, Brugger J (2008) The formation of precious opal: Clues from the opalization of bone, The Canadian Mineralogist, 46, 139-149 [view file]

Othmane G, Allard T, Menguy N, Morin G, Esteve I, Fayek M, Calas G (2013) Evidence for nanocrystals of vorlanite, a rare uranate mineral, in the Nopal I low-temperature uranium deposit (Sierra Peña Blanca, Mexico), American Mineralogist, 98, 518-521

Rey P F (2013) Opalisation of the Great Artesian Basin (central Australia): an Australian story with a Martian twist, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60, 291-314

Liesegang M, Milke R (2014) Australian sedimentary opal-A and its associated minerals: Implications for natural silica sphere formation, American Mineralogist, 99, 1488

Eckert J, Gourdon O, Jacob D E, Meral C, Monteiro P J M, Vogel S C, Wirth R, Wenk H R (2015) Ordering of water in opals with different microstructures, European Journal of Mineralogy, 27, 203-213

Fritsch E, Megaw P K M, Spano T L, Chauviré B, Rondeau B, Gray M, Hainschwang T, Renfro N (2015) Green-luminescing hyalite opal from Zacatecas, Mexico, The Journal of Gemmology, 34, 490-508

Chauviré B, Rondeau B, Mangold N (2017) Near infrared signature of opal and chalcedony as a proxy for their structure and formation conditions, European Journal of Mineralogy, 29, 409-421

Martin E, Gaillou E (2018) Insight on gem opal formation in volcanic ash deposits from a supereruption: A case study through oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compostion of opals from Lake Tecopa, California, U.S.A., American Mineralogist, 103, 803-811

Yuan P, Liu D, Zhou J, Tian Q, Song Y, Wei H, Wang S, Zhou J, Deng L, Du P (2019) Identification of the occurrence of minor elements in the structure of diatomaceous opal using FIB and TEM-EDS, American Mineralogist, 104, 1323-1335

Ayalew D, Pik R, Gibson S, Yirgu G, Ali S, Assefa D (2020) Pedogenic origin of Mezezo opal hosted in Ethiopian Miocene rhyolites, The Canadian Mineralogist, 58, 231-246

Natkaniec-Nowak L, Dumańska-Słowik M, Gaweł A, Łatkiewicz A, Kowalczyk-Szpyt J, Wolska A, Milovská S, Luptáková J, Ładoń K (2020) Fire agate from the Deer Creek deposit (Arizona, USA) – new insights into structure and mineralogy, Mineralogical Magazine, 84, 343-354 [view file]

Lee S, Xu H, Xu H (2022) Reexamination of the structure of opal-A: A combined study of synchrotron X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis, American Mineralogist, 107, 1353-1360