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Catapleiite mineral

Catapleiite is the sodium-zirconium silicate mineral species with ideal formula Na2Zr(Si3O9)(H2O)2. The September 2026 IMA-CNMNC list records grandfathered status and the year 1850, not a numbered approval accession. It is distinct from calciocatapleiite, elpidite, elemental zirconium and mixed zirconium-bearing rocks. An ideal species formula does not establish the composition or symmetry of every natural grain. Cegiełka and colleagues (2022) assigned catapleiite from microscopy and electron-microprobe data in a loose Dyrnaes River block that they attributed to the Ilímaussaq Green Granite, south Greenland. Figure 3B, Figure 6 and Table 5 document their catapleiite assignment in zircon-bearing aggregates associated with elpidite. This is the same heterogeneous block already described in the elpidite record, not independent sampling or a pure catapleiite feed. The paper does not provide sample-specific diffraction confirmation. Its proposed late-magmatic formation and subsequent hydrothermal sodium loss are geological interpretations, not controlled transformation assays. The detailed analytical appendix and Supplementary Table 1 remain unavailable. Figure 3C labels material SZR while its caption calls it catapleiite; Table 4 and Table 6 repeat IL-356 under different material headings. Main-text and Table 5 sodium ranges also disagree. These unresolved source differences are retained without importing whole-dataset composition ranges or calculating alteration yields. Zubkova and colleagues (2020) distinguish natural catapleiite from the zirconosilicate produced by annealing it at 1000 degrees C. Their silver-exchange experiment used that thermally transformed derivative, whose framework differs from hydrated catapleiite. Its silver-bearing product is not a demonstrated exchange product of the unheated mineral. Figure 1 reuses earlier structural models for the starting mineral and thermal derivative; the new structure determination concerns the silver-exchanged derivative. This study supplies material-boundary context, not a catapleiite recovery yield. No microbial mechanism, industrial recovery or constituent-derived criticality designation is assigned.

Sources & References

  1. ima_2026_09: IMA-CNMNC. The New IMA List of Minerals, September 2026. Definitions on PDF page 1; Catapleiite row on page 38: Na2Zr(Si3O9)(H2O)2, G, 1850, Norway. Calciocatapleiite is separately listed on page 35. Retained issuing-authority original re-inspected; no numbered approval identifier is fabricated.
    https://cnmnc.units.it/files/editor/IMA_Master_List_(2026-09).pdf (accessed 2026-10-12)
  2. handbook_catapleiite: Handbook of Mineralogy. Catapleiite, version 1.2 (2001). Complete original one-page mineral entry inspected for ideal identity and natural occurrence context. Its monoclinic cell description is not assigned to all natural catapleiite specimens.
    https://handbookofmineralogy.org/pdfs/catapleiite.pdf (accessed 2026-10-12)
  3. cegielka2022: Cegiełka M, Bagiński B, Macdonald R, Belkin HE, Kotowski J and Upton BGJ (2022). Zirconium silicates in a peralkaline granite: a record of the interplay of magmatic and hydrothermal processes (Ilímaussaq complex, Greenland). Acta Geologica Polonica 72(2), 235-245. DOI 10.24425/agp.2022.140427. Complete 11-page article with institutional cover, seven original figures and six tables inspected. Methods pages 236-237; catapleiite Figures 3B and 6, Table 5 and pages 240-243. Figure 3C, Tables 4-6 and page 240 retain the stated source conflicts. Separate analytical appendix and Supplementary Table 1 were not acquired.
    https://doi.org/10.24425/agp.2022.140427 (accessed 2026-10-12)
  4. zubkova2020: Zubkova NV, Ksenofontov DA, Chukanov NV, Pekov IV, Artamonova AA, Koshlyakova NN, Bychkov AY and Pushcharovsky DY (2020). Crystal Chemistry of the Microporous Zirconosilicate Na6Zr3[Si9O27], a Product of High-Temperature Transformation of Catapleiite, and Its Ag-Exchanged Form. Minerals 10(3), 243. DOI 10.3390/min10030243. Complete ten-page publisher PDF and XML, three original figures and five tables inspected. Mineral versus derivative boundaries: pages 2-4, Table 1 and Figure 1; derivative chemistry and structure: Tables 2-5, Figures 2-3 and pages 4-9. No supplementary-material node or link occurs in the acquired XML.
    https://doi.org/10.3390/min10030243 (accessed 2026-10-12)

Curation History

Timestamp Curator Action Summary
2026-10-12T10:37:45Z codex (GPT-6; codex) create Added catapleiite identity and bounded natural-specimen context, explicitly sharing the Greenland specimen with elpidite and separating unheated mineral from the silver-exchanged thermal derivative. Preserved missing supplementary data and source conflicts without assigning mechanisms, criticality or yields.

Record source: data/records/catapleiite.yaml