Oskarssonite

AlF3
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Osk
Discovered
2009
IMA approved
2012
Also known as
  • IMA2012-088
  • Oskarssoniet

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

Surface of fumaroles on the Eldfell volcano, Heimaey Island, Iceland

Type locality
Eldfell Volcano
  1. Heimaey Island
  2. Vestmannaeyjar archipelago (Westman islands)
  3. Vestmannaeyjar
  4. Southern Region
  5. Iceland

63.4336°, -20.2489°

5recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Crystallography

Crystal system
Trigonal
Space group
R-3
Cell parameters
a = 4.9817(4) Å · c = 12.387(1) Å
Unit cell volume
266.23 ų
Z
6
Type-locality form

Sub-micron-sized crystals forming a white powder.

Crystal structure

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
9FFluorineFluorine318.99856.994
67.87%
13AlAluminiumAluminium126.98226.982
32.13%
Total83.976100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From IMA formula

Synonyms

  • IMA2012-088
  • Oskarssoniet

In other languages

German
IMA 2012-088 · Oskarssonit
Italian
oskarssonite

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

3.A0

  • 3HalidesClass
  • 3.ASimple halides, without H2ODivision
  • 3.A0— unnamed intermediate level —Group
  • 3.A0OskarssoniteSpecies

Group, growth & confusion

In the same group
1 members
Commonly confused with
1 mineral

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 1988Rosenberg, P.E. (1988) Aluminum fluoride hydrates, volcanogenic salts from Mount Erebus, Antarctica. American Mineralogist: 73: 855-860.
  2. 1990Daniel, P., Bulou, A., Rousseau, M., Nouet, J., Fourquet, J.L., Leblance, M., Burriel, R. (1990) A study of the structural phase transitions in AlF3: x-ray powder diffraction, DSC and Raman scattering investigations of the lattice dynamics and phonon spectrum. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter: 2: 5663-5677.
  3. 2013Williams, P. A., Hatert, F., Pasero, M., Mills, S. J. (2013) New minerals and nomenclature modifications approved in 2013. CNMNC Newsletter No 16. Mineralogical Magazine, 77 (6) 2695-2709 doi:10.1180/minmag.2013.077.6.01DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2013.077.6.01
  4. 2014Jacobsen, M. J., Balić -Žunić, T., Mitolo, D., Katerinopoulou, A., Garavelli, A., Jakobsson, S. P. (2014) Oskarssonite, AlF3, a new fumarolic mineral from Eldfell volcano, Heimaey, Iceland. Mineralogical Magazine, 78 (1) 215-222 doi:10.1180/minmag.2014.078.1.15 DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2014.078.1.15
  5. 2014Belakovskiy, D.; Camara, F.; Uvarova, Y.; Gagne, O. C. (2014) New Mineral Names. American Mineralogist, 99 (8). 1806-1813 doi:10.2138/am.2014.650DOI: 10.2138/am.2014.650
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Oskarssonite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/oskarssonite-43853},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}