Olivenite

---

title: "Olivenite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["copper(ii)-minerals", "arsenate-minerals", "monoclinic-minerals", "minerals-in-space-group-14"] description: "Copper arsenate mineral" topic_path: "general/copper-ii-minerals" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivenite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Copper arsenate mineral ::

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

Field	Value
name	Olivenite
category	Arsenate minerals
image	Mineraly.sk - olivenit.jpg
imagesize	260px
caption	Olivenite, Špania Dolina, Slovakia
formula	Cu2AsO4OH
IMAsymbol	Oli
strunz	8.BB.30
dana	41.06.06.01
system	Monoclinic
class	Prismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
symmetry	P21/n
color	Olive green to yellow or brown, gray-green, grayish white
habit	Fibrous, globular and reniform; granular, earthy, massive
twinning	On {010}
cleavage	{101}, {110}, indistinct
fracture	Conchoidal to irregular
mohs	3
luster	Adamantine to vitreous, pearly to silky if fibrous
streak	Olive-green to brown
diaphaneity	Translucent to opaque
gravity	4.46
opticalprop	Biaxial (+/−)
refractive	nα = 1.747 – 1.780 nβ = 1.788 – 1.820 nγ = 1.829 – 1.865
birefringence	δ = 0.082 – 0.085
pleochroism	Weak green and yellow
2V	Measured: 80° to 90°, Calculated: 46° to 84°
dispersion	strong r v or r
references
::

| name = Olivenite | category = Arsenate minerals | boxwidth = | boxbgcolor = | image = Mineraly.sk - olivenit.jpg | imagesize = 260px | alt = | caption = Olivenite, Špania Dolina, Slovakia | formula = Cu2AsO4OH | IMAsymbol = Oli | molweight = | strunz = 8.BB.30 | dana = 41.06.06.01 | system = Monoclinic | class = Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) | symmetry = P21/n | color = Olive green to yellow or brown, gray-green, grayish white | colour = | habit = Fibrous, globular and reniform; granular, earthy, massive | twinning = On {010} | cleavage = {101}, {110}, indistinct | fracture = Conchoidal to irregular | tenacity = | mohs = 3 | luster = Adamantine to vitreous, pearly to silky if fibrous | streak = Olive-green to brown | diaphaneity = Translucent to opaque | gravity = 4.46 | density = | polish = | opticalprop = Biaxial (+/−) | refractive = nα = 1.747 – 1.780 nβ = 1.788 – 1.820 nγ = 1.829 – 1.865 | birefringence = δ = 0.082 – 0.085 | pleochroism = Weak green and yellow | 2V = Measured: 80° to 90°, Calculated: 46° to 84° | dispersion = strong r v or r | extinction = | length fast/slow = | fluorescence= | absorption = | melt = | fusibility = | diagnostic = | solubility = | other = | alteration = | references =

Olivenite is a copper arsenate mineral, formula Cu2AsO4OH. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system (pseudo-orthorhombic),

A characteristic feature, and one to which the name alludes (German, Olivenerz, of A. G. Werner, 1789), is the olive-green color, which varies in shade from blackish-green in the crystals to almost white in the finely fibrous variety known as woodcopper. The hardness is 3, and the specific gravity is 4.3. The mineral was formerly found in some abundance, associated with limonite and quartz, in the upper workings in the copper mines of the St Day district in Cornwall; also near Redruth, and in the Tintic Mining District in Utah. It is a mineral of secondary origin, a result of the oxidation of copper ores and arsenopyrite. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Olivenite.jpg" caption="Olivenite from Mammoth Mine, Tintic, Utah"] ::

The arsenic of olivenite is sometimes partly replaced by a small amount of phosphorus, and in the species libethenite we have the corresponding copper phosphate Cu2PO4OH. This is found as small dark green crystals resembling olivenite at Ľubietová in the Slovak Republic, and in small amount also in Cornwall. Other members of this isomorphous group of minerals are adamite, Zn2AsO4OH, and eveite, Mn2AsO4OH.

References

References

1. Warr, L.N.. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine.
2. [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/olivenite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy]
3. [http://www.mindat.org/min-2981.html Mindat]
4. [http://webmineral.com/data/Olivenite.shtml Webmineral data]
5. and is sometimes found in small brilliant crystals of simple [[Crystal habit. prismatic habit]] terminated by domal faces. More commonly, it occurs as globular aggregates of acicular crystals, these fibrous forms often having a velvety [[lustre (mineralogy). Leonard James. Spencer

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::