Violet flakes of freitalite on sulfur from the mine dump of the Königin Carola shaft, Freital, near Dresden, Saxony, Germany. Picture width is 9 cm. The image is published in an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). — Photo: Thomas Witzke · CC BY 4.0
Freitalite
Freitalite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the organic mineral class, with the chemical formula C₁₄H₁₀.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group P2_1/a).
Key properties: Mohs hardness 1; specific gravity 1.24; White streak; Vitreous to pearly luster.
IMA symbol Fta, IMA status: approved, named in 2020.
On mine dumps, formed by pyrolysis of coal during spontaneous combustion in a low oxygen fugacity environment and sublimated from the gas phase.
It is found associated with Sulfur, hoelite.
The name refers to Freital, the locality near which the studied material was collected.