Carbonate minerals

Carbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion: CO₃^2-.

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Carbonate classes

Anhydrous carbonates

• Calcite group: Trigonal
  • Calcite CaCO₃
  • Gaspeite (Ni,Mg,Fe²⁺)CO₃
  • Magnesite MgCO₃
  • Otavite CdCO₃
  • Rhodochrosite MnCO₃
  • Siderite FeCO₃
  • Smithsonite ZnCO₃
  • Sphaerocobaltite CoCO₃
• Aragonite group: Orthorhombic
  • Aragonite CaCO₃
  • Cerussite PbCO₃
  • Strontianite SrCO₃
  • Witherite BaCO₃
  • Rutherfordine UO₂CO₃
  • Natrite Na₂CO₃

Anhydrous carbonates with compound formulas

• Dolomite group: Trigonal
  • Ankerite CaFe(CO₃)₂
  • Dolomite CaMg(CO₃)₂
  • Minrecordite CaZn(CO₃)₂
  • Barytocite BaCa(CO₃)₂

Carbonates with hydroxyl or halogen

• Carbonate with hydroxide: Monoclinic
  • Azurite Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂
  • Hydrocerussite Pb₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂
  • Malachite Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂
  • Roassite (Cu,Zn)₂CO₃(OH)₂
  • Phosgenite Pb₂(CO₃)Cl₂
  • Hydrozincite Zn₅(CO₃)₂(OH)₆
  • Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu)₅(CO₃)₂(OH)₆

Hydrated carbonates

• Ikaite CaCO₃.6(H₂O)
• Lansfordite MgCO₃·5(H₂O)
• Monohydrocalcite CaCO₃.H₂O
• Natron Na₂CO₃·10(H₂O)
• Zellerite Ca(UO₂)(CO₃)₂·5(H₂O)

The carbonate class in both the Dana and the Strunz classification systems includes the nitrates, the borates, and the iodates.

References

• Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., ISBN 0-471-80580-7
• Webmineral Dana Classification