Goosecreekite from Bulatovo stone quarry (South Urals): the first find in Russia
A.V. Kasatkin, N.V. Chukanov, V.A. Popov, A.M. Kuznetsov
| UDK 549.67 (470.55) | https://doi.org/10.35597/2313-545X-2026-12-1-1 | PDF (RUS) |
A rare zeolite goosecreekite, CaAl2Si6O16 · 5H2O, was found for the first time in Russia in granitic pegmatites of the Bulatovo stone quarry (Chelyabinsk region, South Urals). It forms clusters of subhedral colorless and white transparent crystals with vitreous luster up to 0.4 cm in size on microcline and quartz in assemblage with clinochlore, stilbite-Ca and phlogopite. The chemical composition of the mineral is as follows (wt. %, mean of twelve analyses, the H2O content is calculated by stoichiometry): K2O 0.21, CaO 9.33, Al2O3 16.53, SiO2 58.77, H2O (calc.) 14.71, total 99.55. The empirical formula based on 21 O atom per formula unit is Ca1.02K0.03Al1.99Si1.99O16 · 5H2O. The strongest reflections of the powder X-ray diffraction diagram are [d,Å(I)(hkl)]: 6.997(50)(001), 4.856(67)( ̅121), 4.503(70)(130), 4.472(100)(031), 3.302(60)(220). The parameters of the monoclinic unit cell calculated from the powder X-ray data are as follows: a = 7.4008(9), b = 17.421(3), c = 7.288(1) Å, β = 105.42(2)°, V = 905.8(2) Å3. The wavenumbers of the strongest bands of the IR spectrum are (cm–1): 3567, 3484, 3313, 1635, 1173, 1032, 980, 724, 576, 535, and 421.
Keywords: goosecreekite, zeolite, pegmatites, Bulatovo quarry, South Urals, first find in Russia.
Funding. The IR spectroscopic studies were supported by state contract of the Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry RAS no. 124013100858-3.
Acknowledgements. We are grateful to Alexander S. Gilyov for samples for studies and detailed information about the locality, Sergey G. Epanchintsev and Maria D. Milshina for help with figures and Vladislav V. Gurzhiy for discussion. We also thank an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments.
Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Author contribution. A.V. Kasatkin – conceptualization, physical properties, chemical and X-ray analyses, writing of the manuscript; N.V. Chukanov – infrared spectroscopy, writing of the manuscript; V.A. Popov – crystal measurement and drawing, writing of the manuscript; A.M. Kuznetsov – literature data, preparation of figures, writing of the manuscript. All the authors approved the final version of the manuscript prior to publication.
For citation: Kasatkin A.V., Chukanov N.V., Popov V.A., Kuznetsov A.M. Goosecreekite from the Bulatovo stone quarry (South Urals): the first find in Russia. Mineralogy, 12(1), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.35597/2313-545X-2026-12-1-1.
Received 02.02.2026, revised 14.02.2025 accepted 20.02.2026
Nikita V. Chukanov – Doct. Sci. (Phys.-Math.), Chief Researcher, Federal Research Center of Problems of Chemical Physics and Medicinal Chemistry RAS, Chernogolovka, Moscow region, Russia;
Vladimir A. Popov – Doct. Sci. (Geol.-Mineral.), Scientific Researcher, South Urals Federal Research Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS, Miass, Chelyabinsk district, Russia;
Alexey M. Kuznetsov – Сollector, Chelyabinsk, Russia
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