Diaboleite

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title: "Diaboleite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["copper(ii)-minerals", "chloride-minerals", "hydroxide-minerals", "lead-minerals", "tetragonal-minerals", "minerals-in-space-group-99"] description: "Blue-colored mineral" topic_path: "general/copper-ii-minerals" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaboleite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Blue-colored mineral ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mineral"]

Field	Value
name	Diaboleite
category	Halide mineral
image	Diaboleite-21675.jpg
imagesize	260px
formula	Pb2CuCl2(OH)4
IMAsymbol	Dbol
strunz	3.DB.05
dana	10.6.1.1
system	Tetragonal
class	Ditetragonal pyramidal (4mm)
H-M symbol: (4mm)
symmetry	P4mm
unit cell	a = 5.880, c = 5.500 Å, Z = 1
color	Blue
habit	As square tabular crystals, thin plates, massive
cleavage	Perfect on {001}
fracture	Conchoidal
tenacity	Brittle
mohs	2.5
luster	Adamantine, pearly on cleavages
refractive	nω = 1.980, nε = 1.850
opticalprop	Uniaxial (−)
birefringence	δ = 0.130
absorption	O E, in thick fragments
streak	Pale blue
density	5.41 to 5.43 g/cm3
solubility	Completely soluble in nitric acid
diaphaneity	Transparent to translucent
references
::

| name = Diaboleite | category = Halide mineral | boxwidth = | boxbgcolor = | image = Diaboleite-21675.jpg | imagesize = 260px | caption = | formula = Pb2CuCl2(OH)4 | IMAsymbol = Dbol | strunz = 3.DB.05 | dana = 10.6.1.1 | system = Tetragonal | class = Ditetragonal pyramidal (4mm) H-M symbol: (4mm) | symmetry = P4mm | unit cell = a = 5.880, c = 5.500 Å, Z = 1 | molweight = | color = Blue | habit = As square tabular crystals, thin plates, massive | twinning = | cleavage = Perfect on {001} | fracture = Conchoidal | tenacity = Brittle | mohs = 2.5 | luster = Adamantine, pearly on cleavages | polish = | refractive = nω = 1.980, nε = 1.850 | opticalprop = Uniaxial (−) | birefringence = δ = 0.130 | 2V = | dispersion = | pleochroism = | fluorescence= | absorption = O E, in thick fragments | streak = Pale blue | gravity = | density = 5.41 to 5.43 g/cm3 | melt = | fusibility = | diagnostic = | solubility = Completely soluble in nitric acid | diaphaneity = Transparent to translucent | other = | references = Diaboleite is a blue-colored mineral with formula Pb2CuCl2(OH)4. It was discovered in England in 1923 and named diaboleite, from the Greek word διά and boleite, meaning "distinct from boleite". The mineral has since been found in a number of countries.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Diaboleite-203806.jpg" caption="Diaboleite crystal from a slag occurrence in the [[Laurium]] District, [[Attica]], Greece (size: less than 1 mm)"] ::

Diaboleite is deep blue in color and pale blue in transmitted light. The mineral occurs as tabular crystals up to 2 cm in size, as subparallel aggregates, or it has massive habit. Vicinal forms of the tabular crystals have a square or octagonal outline and rarely exhibit pyramidal hemihedralism.

Formation

Diaboleite occurs in manganese oxide ores, as a secondary mineral in lead and copper oxide ores, and in seawater-exposed slag. Diaboleite has been found in association with atacamite, boleite, caledonite, cerussite, chloroxiphite, hydrocerussite, leadhillite, mendipite, paratacamite, phosgenite, and wherryite.

A study in 1986 synthesized diaboleite crystals up to 0.18 mm in size using two different methods. The study demonstrated that diaboleite is a low-temperature phase, that is stable under hydrothermal conditions at temperatures less than 100 to. At higher temperatures, the first stable mineral to form is cumengeite.

History

In 1923, diaboleite was discovered at Higher Pitts Mine in the Mendip Hills of Somerset, England, The study of the similar mineral boleite was perplexing at the time and this new mineral only compounded the difficulty. As insufficient material was available for a full investigation, Spencer and Mountain named it diaboleite, meaning "distinct from boleite", out of "desperation".

The mineral was grandfathered as a valid mineral by the International Mineralogical Association as it was described prior to 1959.

Distribution

, diaboleite has been found in Australia, Austria, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Russia, South Africa, the UK and the US. The type material is held at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography

References

1. Warr, L.N.. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine.
2. "Diaboleite". Handbook of Mineralogy.
3. "Diaboleite". Mindat.
4. Winchell, p. 934.
5. and described by L. J. Spencer and E.D. Mountain.Spencer, p. 78.
6. Spencer, p. 79.

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