On the New Mineral Theophrastite, a Nickel Hydroxide, from Unst, Shetland, Scotland

A. Livingstone and D. L. Bish
Department of Geology, Royal Scottish Museum, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, PO Box 1663, Mail Stop 978, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA

Abstract: The new mineral theophrastite, Ni(OH)2, from Unst, is Mg-bearing and occurs associated with a very poorly crystalline Ni-containing mixed hydroxide of the pyroaurite type and/or zaratite on chromitite. X-ray powder diffraction data show a shift in d spacing toward brucite compared with pure Ni(OH)2. Infrared, thermal, chemical, optical, and physical data are presented together with indexed powder data for fifteen lines ranging from d 4.66Å to 0.90Å. The solid-solution series brucite-theophrastite is briefly discussed.

Mineralogical Magazine; March 1982 v. 46; no. 338; p. 1-5; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1982.046.338.01
© 1982, The Mineralogical Society
Mineralogical Society (www.minersoc.org)