Birchite.
Image: Lucy Gibson
Source: Lucy Gibson
New mineral named in MV mineralogist’s honour.
Named for Museum Victoria mineralogist Bill Birch, Birchite (a hydrated cadmium copper phosphate-sulphate mineral) has been described in the current issue of American Mineralogist by mineralogists from Adelaide and Vienna.
Birchite occurred in the Block 14 open cut mine at Broken Hill as bright blue crystal sprays up to 0.75mm across.
While there are about 4000 known minerals, with approximately 50 new ones being discovered each year world-wide, less than 50 minerals have ever been named in honour of Australians.
Bill has described more new mineral species (29 to date, with several more on the way) than any other Australian mineralogist, including a number of new minerals from Broken Hill, so having a Broken Hill mineral named in his honour makes a fitting tribute.
Museum Victoria has acquired several samples of Birchite for its mineral collection.