Cervantite

{{Short description|Antimony oxide mineral}}

{{infobox mineral

| name = Cervantite

| boxwidth =

| boxbgcolor =

| image = Cervantite-109568.jpg

| imagesize = 260px

| alt =

| caption = Microscopic cervantite crystals from Slovakia (3 mm field of view)

| category = Oxide mineral

| formula = Sb³⁺Sb⁵⁺O₄

| IMAsymbol=Cvn{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}

| molweight =

| strunz = 4.DE.30

| dana =

| system = Orthorhombic

| class = Pyramidal (mm2)
(same H-M symbol)

| symmetry = Pbn2₁

| unit cell = a = 5.43 Å, b = 4.81 Å,
c = 11.76 Å; Z = 4

| color = Yellow to nearly white

| colour =

| habit = Microscopic acicular crystals; massive

| twinning =

| cleavage = Excellent on {001}, distinct on {100}

| fracture = Conchoidal

| tenacity =

| mohs = 4–5

| luster = Greasy, pearly, earthy

| streak = Pale yellow to white

| diaphaneity = Semitransparent

| gravity = 6.5

| density =

| polish =

| opticalprop = Biaxial

| refractive = n_α = 2.000 n_γ = 2.100

| birefringence = δ = 0.100

| pleochroism =

| 2V =

| dispersion = relatively weak

| extinction =

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| references = [https://www.mineralienatlas.de/lexikon/index.php/MineralData?mineral=Cervantite Mineralienatlas][http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/cervantite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy][http://www.mindat.org/min-936.html Mindat.org][http://www.webmineral.com/data/Cervantite.shtml Webmineral data]

}}

Cervantite, also formerly known as antimony ochreJames Dwight Dana A. M., Brush G. J. A system of mineralogy : Descriptive mineralogy, comprising the most recent discoveries. — New York : J. Wiley & Sons, 1884.{{rp|188}} — is an antimony oxide mineral with formula Sb³⁺Sb⁵⁺O₄ (antimony tetroxide).

It was first described in 1850 for an occurrence in Cervantes, Galicia, Spain, and named for the locality. The mineral was questioned and disapproved, but re-approved and verified in 1962 based on material from the Zajaca-Stolice district, Brasina, Serbia. It occurs as a secondary alteration product of antimony bearing minerals, mainly stibnite.

File:Valentinite-Cervantite-Stibnite-213068.jpg replacing stibnite from the Xikuangshan Mine of Hunan Province, China (size: 16.1 × 5.0 × 3.0 cm)]]