Where it forms, where it's found
- Type locality
- Blythe
- Riverside County
- California
- USA
33.6103°, -114.5956°
62recorded occurrences
Varieties
Physical
- Hardness
- 1Talc
- 2Gypsum
- 3Calcite
- 4Fluorite
- 5Apatite
- 6Orthoclase
- 7Quartz
- 8Topaz
- 9Corundum
- 10Diamond
Crystallography
- Cell parameters
- a = 7.3451(4) Å · b = 18.794(1) Å · c = 7.3891(4) Å
- Cell angles
- α = 91.369(5) ° · β = 102.169(4) ° · γ = 98.831(4) °
- Ratio a:b:c
- 1 : 2.559 : 1.006
- Unit cell volume
- 983.6 ų
- Comment
Synthetic (Majzlan & Michallik, 2007).
Crystal structure
Chemical composition
Synonyms
- Magnesiocopiapiet
In other languages
- German
- Magnesiocopiapit
- Italian
- Magnesiocopiapite
Classification
Strunz
10th ed.7.DB.35
- 7SulfatesClass
- 7.DSulfates (selenates, etc.) with additional anions, with H2ODivision
- 7.DBWith only medium-sized cations; insular octahedra and finite unitsGroup
- 7.DB.35MagnesiocopiapiteSpecies
Dana
8th ed.31.10.05.02
- 31Hydrated Sulfates Containing Hydroxyl or HalogenClass
- 31.10MiscellaneousType
- 31.10.05Copiapite GroupGroup
- 31.10.05.02MagnesiocopiapiteSpecies
Group, growth & confusion
Aluminocopiapite(Al,Mg)Fe3+4(SO4)6(OH,O)2 · 20H2OMineral—
CalciocopiapiteCaFe3+4(SO4)6(OH)2 · 20H2OMineral—
CopiapiteFe2+Fe3+4(SO4)6(OH)2 · 20H2OMineral—
CuprocopiapiteCu2+Fe3+4(SO4)6(OH)2 · 20H2OMineral—
FerricopiapiteFe3+0.67Fe3+4(SO4)6(OH)2 · 20H2OMineral—
ZincocopiapiteZnFe3+4(SO4)6(OH)2 · 20H2OMineral—
Literature, links & citation
Citations
- 1938Berry, L.G. (1938) Composition and optics of copiapite. in Nineteenth Annual Meeting, Mineralogical Society of America, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, December 28-30, 1938, Program, abstracts, and time schedule for presentation of papers. American Mineralogist: 23(12)pt2: 3-3.
- 1939(1939) American Mineralogist : 24: 182.
- 1947Berry, L.G. (1947) Composition and optics of copiapite. University of Toronto Studies: VI. Geological Series, 51, 21-34.
- 1951Palache, Charles; Berman, Harry; Frondel, Clifford (1951) The System of Mineralogy (7th ed.) Vol. 2 - Halides, Nitrates, Borates, Carbonates, Sulfates, Phosphates, Arsenates, Tungstates, Molybdates, Etc. John Wiley and Sons.
- 1985Bayliss, P., Atencio, D. (1985) X-ray powder-diffraction data and cell parameters for copiapite-group minerals. The Canadian Mineralogist, 23 (1) 53-56
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
author = {Mineral Index editorial board},
title = {Magnesiocopiapite — Mineral Index},
year = {2026},
url = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/magnesiocopiapite-2486},
note = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}