Nickelblödite
Nickelblödite is a rare nickel sulfate mineral with the formula Na2Ni2·4H2O. Nickelblödite was discovered in nickel mines in Carr Boyd Rocks and Kambalda, Western Australia. The mineral is a nickel-analogue of blödite, changoite, cobaltoblödite and manganoblödite - other representatives of the blödite group.
Nickelblödite contains small admixtures of magnesium and iron.
Minerals associating with nickelblödite include violarite, morenosite, halite, pyrite, and siderite.
Features
Nickelblodite is a sulfate of the chemical formula Na2Ni2·4H2O. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system. It is usually found in the form of flat crystals, up to 150 microns, with soft shapes probably rounded by the solution, and in efflorescence. According to the Nickel-Strunz classification, nickelblödite belongs to "07.C - Sulfates without additional anions, with H2O, with medium and large cations".
Formation and deposits
This mineral has been identified from specimens collected in two different locations in Western Australia: the Kambalda nickel mine in Coolgardie, and the Carr Boyd Rocks nickel mine in Menzies. It has only been described in two other places around the world: the sulfate deposit of Sohland an der Spree, in Upper Lusatia, Germany and the Km-3 mine in Lavrio, Greece.