Brianyoungite Locality: St Johannes Mine, Wolkenstein, Marienberg District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany White balls of Brianyoungite. Field of view 4 mm. Specimen and photo Leon Hupperichs. — Photo: Leon Hupperichs · CC BY-SA 3.0
Brianyoungite
A secondary zinc carbonate in which sulfate partially substitutes for carbonate groups.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Brianyoungite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the carbonate class, with the chemical formula Zn₃(CO₃)(OH)₄.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system.
Key properties: specific gravity 3.93–4.09; Vitreous luster; optically biaxial.
IMA symbol Byo, IMA status: approved, named in 1991.
A rare secondary post-mine mineral in limestone-hosted oxidized Pb–Zn ores (Brownley Hill mine, England).
It is found associated with Gypsum, smithsonite, pyrite, goethite (Brownley Hill mine, England).
The mineral was named to honor Brian Young (1947–), field geologist and mineralogist of the British Geological Survey, who provided the first specimens.