Zadovite
An extremely rare barium-calcium silicophosphate of pyrometamorphic paralavas.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Zadovite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the silicate class, with the chemical formula BaCa₆[(SiO₄)(PO₄)](PO₄)₂F.
It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system (space group R-3m). It is a member of the Zadovite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 5–5.5; specific gravity 3.503; White streak; Vitreous luster; optically uniaxial.
IMA symbol Zad, IMA status: approved, named in 2013.
Found in paralava veins cutting gehlenite-rich pyrometamorphic rock formed by the combustion of organic matter in the sedimentary protolith or methane released by tectonic forces.
It is found associated with Aradite, gehlenite, pseudowollastonite, wollastonite, andradite-schorlomite, rankinite, magnesioferrite, kalsilite, fluorapatite, P-rich ellestadite, larnite.
The mineral was named to honor Russian mineralogist Aleksandr Efimovich Zadov (1958-2012), author or co-author of more than 90 new mineral species.