Named in honor of Dr. Fred Donald Bloss (30 May 1920, Chicago, Illinois - 22 April, 2020, Blacksburg, Virginia), mineralogist at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. He was president of the Mineralogical Society of America, editor of the American Mineralogist and was an expert in optical mineralogy. He wrote several books including 'The Spindle Stage: Principles and Practice'.

Type Locality:

ⓘ Izalco Volcano, Sonsonate Department, El Salvador

Dimorphous with Ziesite

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Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

697

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:697:6

GUID
(UUID V4):

897be2a6-4a7d-4483-a19f-390b357f90d6

IMA Classification of BlossiteHide

IMA status:

Approved

IMA Formula:

Cu₂V⁵⁺₂O₇

First published:

1987

Type description reference:

Robinson, Paul D., Hughes, John M., Malinconico, MaryAnn L. (1987) Blossite, α-Cu²⁺₂V⁵⁺₂O₇, a new fumarolic sublimate from Izalco volcano, El Salvador. American Mineralogist, 72 (3-4) 397-400

Classification of BlossiteHide

Strunz-mindat (2024):

8.FA.05

8 : PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, VANADATES
F : Polyphosphates, Polyarsenates, [4]-Polyvanadates
A : Polyphosphates, etc., without OH and H₂O; dimers of corner-sharing RO₄ tetrahedra.

Dana 8th ed.:

38.5.6.1

38 : ANHYDROUS NORMAL PHOSPHATES, ARSENATES, AND VANADATES
5 : Miscellaneous

Hey's CIM Ref.:

21.1.7

21 : Vanadates (and vanadates with arsenate or phosphate)
1 : Vanadates of the alkalis and Cu

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference
Blo	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of BlossiteHide

Lustre:

Metallic

Transparency:

Opaque

Colour:

Black

Streak:

Red-brown

Density:

3.95 - 3.97 g/cm³ (Measured) 4.051 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Comment:

On synthetic material

Optical Data of BlossiteHide

Type:

Biaxial

RI values:

n = 2.05

Max Birefringence:

δ = 0.000

Image shows birefringence interference colour range (at 30µm thickness)
and does not take into account mineral colouration.

Surface Relief:

Very High

Anisotropism:

Moderate; grey to creamy grey-brown

Bireflectance:

Weak to moderate; in shades of cream-white

Reflectivity:

Wavelength	R₁	R₂
481 nm	14.6%	15.3%
547 nm	15.4%	16.6%
591 nm	14.8%	16.7%
644 nm	14.5%	15.7%

Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Top of box is 100%. Peak reflectance is 16.7%.
R₁ shown in black, R₂ shown in red

Colour in reflected light:

White

Internal Reflections:

Red-brown

Chemistry of BlossiteHide

Mindat Formula:

α-Cu₂(V₂O₇)

Elements listed:

Cu, O, V - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of BlossiteHide

Crystal System:

Orthorhombic

Class (H-M):

mm2 - Pyramidal

Space Group:

Fdd2

Cell Parameters:

a = 20.676(6) Å, b = 8.392(3) Å, c = 6.446(2) Å

Ratio:

a:b:c = 2.464 : 1 : 0.768

Unit Cell V:

1,118.46 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Morphology:

Equant crysyals

Crystal StructureHide

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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Year	Locality	Temp (K)
0001075	Blossite	Robinson P D, Hughes J M, Malinconico M L (1987) Blossite, alpha-Cu2V2O7, a new fumarolic sublimate from Izalco volcano, El Salvador - data obtained by personal communication, May 2003. American Mineralogist 72 397-400	1987		293
0009498	Blossite	Mercurio-Lavaud D, Frit B (1973) Structure cristalline de la variete basse temperature du pyrovanadate de cuivre: Cu2V2O7 alpha Acta Crystallographica B29 2737-2741	1973	synthetic	293
0009530	Blossite	Calvo C, Faggiani R (1975) Alpha cupric divanadate Acta Crystallographica B31 603-605	1975	synthetic	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Blossite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Robinson P D'
'Hughes J M'
'Malinconico M L'
_journal_name_full 'American Mineralogist'
_journal_volume 72 
_journal_year 1987
_journal_page_first 397
_journal_page_last 400
_publ_section_title
;
 Blossite, alpha-Cu2V2O7, a new fumarolic sublimate from Izalco volcano, El Salvador
 - data obtained by personal communication, May 2003.
;
_database_code_amcsd 0001075
_chemical_formula_sum 'Cu2 V2 O7'
_cell_length_a 20.676
_cell_length_b 8.392
_cell_length_c 6.446
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 90
_cell_angle_gamma 90
_cell_volume 1118.465
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      4.050
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'F d d 2'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  'x,1/2+y,1/2+z'
  '1/2+x,y,1/2+z'
  '1/2+x,1/2+y,z'
  '1/4+x,1/4-y,1/4+z'
  '1/4+x,3/4-y,3/4+z'
  '3/4+x,1/4-y,3/4+z'
  '3/4+x,3/4-y,1/4+z'
  '1/4-x,1/4+y,1/4+z'
  '1/4-x,3/4+y,3/4+z'
  '3/4-x,1/4+y,3/4+z'
  '3/4-x,3/4+y,1/4+z'
  '-x,1/2-y,1/2+z'
  '-x,-y,+z'
  '1/2-x,1/2-y,+z'
  '1/2-x,-y,1/2+z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
Cu   0.16590   0.36390   0.75000 ?
V   0.19880   0.40520   0.23280 ?
O1   0.16160   0.34830   0.45320   0.01773
O2   0.24540   0.56160   0.26760   0.02406
O3   0.14400   0.43580   0.02830   0.01267
O4   0.25000   0.25000   0.15430   0.03673
loop_
_atom_site_aniso_label
_atom_site_aniso_U_11
_atom_site_aniso_U_22
_atom_site_aniso_U_33
_atom_site_aniso_U_12
_atom_site_aniso_U_13
_atom_site_aniso_U_23
Cu 0.01668 0.03033 0.00463 -0.01450 0.00284 -0.00274
V 0.00541 0.01320 0.00421 0.00088 -0.00101 0.00137

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
3.260 Å	(100)
3.080 Å	(100)
3.220 Å	(80)
2.483 Å	(80)
2.102 Å	(70)
2.096 Å	(70)
1.712 Å	(70)

Comments:

Recorded on synthetic α-Cu^2[V^2O^7]; ICDD 26-566

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Stage 7: Great Oxidation Event	<2.4
45b : [Other oxidized fumarolic minerals]

Type Occurrence of BlossiteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Izalco Volcano, Sonsonate Department, El Salvador

General Appearance of Type Material:

Equant anhedral crystals, to 150 µm, typically intergrown with other fumarolic copper vanadates

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA (No. 164270)

Geological Setting of Type Material:

Sublimates from the outer zone of a fumarole in the crater of a basaltic composite volcano, probably formed between 100 °C and 200 °C

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Reference:

Robinson, P.D., Hughes, J.M., Malinconico, M.L. (1987) Blossite, α-Cu2+2V5+2O7, a new fumarolic sublimate from Izalco volcano, El Salvador. American Mineralogist: 72: 397-400.

Download:

http://rruff.info/rruff_1.0/uploads/AM72_397.pdf

Synonyms of BlossiteHide

IMA1986-002

Other Language Names for BlossiteHide

German:Blossit

Russian:Блоссит

Spanish:Blossita

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

8.FA.	Anastasenkoite	CaFe²⁺(P₂O₇)	Tric. 1 : P1
8.FA.	Phosphocyclite-(Fe)	Fe²⁺₂(P₄O₁₂)	Mon. 2/m : B2/b
8.FA.	Phosphocyclite-(Ni)	Ni₂(P₄O₁₂)	Mon. 2/m : B2/b
8.FA.	Lisanite	CaNiP₂O₇	Tric. 1 : P1
8.FA.	Shasuite	CaNi₃(P₂O₇)₂	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
8.FA.	Nabateaite	Fe₂P₂O₇	Tric. 1 : P1
8.FA.	Samraite	Ni₂P₂O₇	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
8.FA.	Bakakinite	Ca₂V₂O₇	Tric. 1 : P1
8.FA.10	Ziesite	β-Cu₂(V₂O₇)	Mon. 2/m : B2/b
8.FA.15	Chervetite	Pb₂(V₂O₇)	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
8.FA.15	UM1999-17:O:PbV	Pb₄V₂O₉ or Pb₄(VO₄)₂O
8.FA.20	Pyrocoproite	(K,Na)₂Mg(P₂O₇)	Mon.
8.FA.20	Pyrophosphite	K₂Ca(P₂O₇)	Mon.
8.FA.25	Petewilliamsite	(Ni,Co)₃₀(As₂O₇)₁₅	Mon. 2 : B2

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for BlossiteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-697.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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External Links:

Look for Blossite on Webmineral

Look for Blossite on Wikipedia

Look for Blossite on Mineralien Atlas

Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

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References for BlossiteHide

Reference List:

Mercurio-Lavaud, D., Frit, B. (1973) Structure cristalline de la variete basse temperature du pyrovanadate de cuivre: Cu2V2O7α. Acta Crystallographica: B29: 2737-2741.

Calvo, C. and Faggiani, R. (1975) α cupric divanadate. Acta Crystallographica: B31: 603-605.

Anthony, J.W., et al. (1997): Handbook of Mineralogy, Vol. 3. pg 68.

Krivovichev, S.V., Filatov, S.K., Cherepansky, P.N., Armbuster, T., Pankratova, O.Y. (2005) Crystal structure of γ-Cu2V2O7 and its comparison to blossite (α-Cu2V2O7) and ziesite (β-Cu2V2O7). The Canadian Mineralogist: 43: 671-677.

(2023) Blossite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for BlossiteHide

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.


El Salvador (TL)
Sonsonate Department ⓘ Izalco Volcano (TL)	Robinson et al. (1987) +1 other reference

Russia
Kamchatka Krai Milkovsky District Tolbachik Volcanic field ⓘ Great Fissure eruption (Main Fracture)	Pekov et al. (2013)

Blossite