Bechererite Locality: Broken Hill South Mine (BHS Mine), Broken Hill , Yancowinna County, New South Wales , Australia ( Locality at mindat.org ) Field of view 6 mm. Specimen and photo Leon Hupperichs. — Photo: Leon Hupperichs · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bechererite
Bechererite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula Zn₇Cu(OH)₁₃[SiO(OH)₃(SO₄)].
It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system (space group P-3).
Key properties: Mohs hardness 2–3; specific gravity 3.45; White streak; Vitreous luster; optically uniaxial.
IMA symbol Bec, IMA status: approved, named in 1994.
A very rare secondary mineral found in the oxidized zone of a hydrothermal base-metal deposit (Tonopah-Belmont mine, Arizona, USA); a post-mine mineral (Frongoch mine, Wales).
It is found associated with Rosasite, willemite, hydrozincite, smithsonite, paratacamite, boleite (Tonopah-Belmont mine, Arizona, USA); susannite, hemimorphite, namuwite.
The mineral was named to honor Dr. Karl Becherer (1926–), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, for his work on the related mineral spangolite.