lavendulan

Lavendulan occurs as bright blue crusts, commonly with a micro-botryoidal structure, on partly oxidised sulphide ores and as platy electri-blue crystals on silicified dolostone.

Lavendulan was first recorded from Tsumeb by Strunz et al. (1958a) in material from the second oxidation zone where it occurred as crusts of blue, cleavable crystals. "Zinclavendulan" (in which the copper is partly replaced by zinc) was described from Tsumeb a year later (Strunz 1959) but is discredited as a species (Burke 2006).

Pinch and Wilson (1977) noted the occurrence of lavendulan as "… bluish crusts in the lower oxidation zone" and of "Zn-lavendulan" as "… blue, small rhombohedral crystals and sprays".

Keller (1984) listed lavendulan as one of several rare arsenate minerals typically found with members of the adamite-olivenite series and on tennantite-rich ores.

Lombaard et al. (1986) included lavendulan in their list of Tsumeb minerals, describing it as very rare.

According to Gebhard (1999) "Flattened crystals of blue lavendulan…" and "… a zinc-bearing variety with crystals of less than 1mm…" were found on 36 Level.

calcite; devilline; fahleite; galena; gypsum; koritnigite; prosperite; quartz; tennantite-(Zn); warikahnite; wulfenite; zincolivenite