Bisbeeite

Bisbeeite is a poorly defined, secondary birdwatcher. It had been called after Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona, USA where it was discovered in 1915 during the Shattuck Mine. The mineral that is new originally described by Dr. W. T. Schaller and he proposed the name Bisbeeite after the breakthrough locality. He noted that the composition had been identical to Dioptase but that Bisbeeite had distinctive properties which are optical. However, Bisbeeite from the Grandview Mine, Arizona, as reported by Professor Austin F. Rogers in 1922, was found to be Cyanotrichite by Samuel G. Gordon in 1923.

Several subsequent studies indicated that Bisbeeite wasn’t a species that is legitimate however a variety of Plancheite (A. Schoep, 1930) or perhaps a variety of Chrysocolla (V. Billiet, 1942). In 1962, R. B. Laurent and R. Pierrot studied kind material also material from an African locality coming to the conclusion so it was certainly a species that is legitimate. Then in 1967 M. C. Van Oosterwyck-Gastuche studied what had been thought to be Bisbeeite from an source that is african and she determined it was a blend of Chrysocolla and Plancheite, maybe not a distinct species. Despite the fact that Bisbeeite from the type locality was not utilized inside her studies, Bisbeeite ended up being later on discredited in 1977 by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names (CNMMN) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). Bisbeeite through the type locality is maybe not particularly uncommon and is present on many Shattuckite specimens. The problem is in acquiring material that is fairly pure research, while the Shattuckite replaced by Bisbeeite had been frequently impure to start with.

Through the very early 1990s Sid Williams, Richard Bideaux and Doug Graeme consented that discrediting a species based on a scholarly research that failed to include the kind product was not adequate. Considering x-ray testing they conducted on five samples from the kind locality, they certainly were satisfied that Bisbeeite was viable as a species that are distinct. But, efforts to replicate the chemistry that is reported complicated by impure product. Their “Bisbeeite” project was put on hold when Michael Fleischer dropped Bisbeeite from his comprehensive “Glossary of Mineral Species.”

In their book Mineralogy of Arizona (third edition, 1995), the writers John W. Anthony, Sidney A. Williams, Richard A. Bideaux and Raymond W. Grant state: “we believe that the Morenci and Hardshell material may supply the basis for resurrecting Bisbeeite as a species.” They certainly were referring to mineral samples through the Morenci-Metcalf region, Greenlee County and the Hardshell mine, Patagonia district, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

Bisbeeite may still be considered a species that is valid but because of the inherent issue of impurities in the Bisbee product, it might be time before the concern associated with legitimacy of Bisbeeite as a species can be answered. So, based on where you are reading about Bisbeeite and the publication date, Bisbeeite may be known as a mineral that is distinct, or a synonym or variety of Chrysocolla and maybe even a synonym or variety of Plancheite. For now, the name Bisbeeite has been relagated to the status of a species that are discredited merely being fully a synonym of Chrysocolla.

To learn more please see the Chrysocolla information page.

 

Chemical Formula:	CuSiO3 • nH2O
	Hydrated Copper Silicate