Named in 2013 by F. E. Güner Genceli, T. Sakurai, and T. Hondoh in honor of Ernst A.J. Burke (August 19th 1943, Kortrijk, Belgium), mineralogist specializing in opaque minerals and Raman spectrometry of fluid inclusions, and professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands. Former Head of the IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification.

Type Locality:

ⓘ Dome Fuji station, East Antarctica, Antarctica

The first and only methanesulphonate mineral. One of a few Mg-S-C-H minerals. Third natural compound of only magnesium and an organic acid, after dashkovaite and glushinskite. Known as a synthetic compound with the chemical name magnesium methanesulphonate hydrate.

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Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

41897

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:41897:7

IMA Classification of ErnstburkeiteHide

IMA status:

Approved

IMA Formula:

Mg(CH₃S⁶⁺O₃)₂·12H₂O

Approval year:

2011

First published:

2013

Type description reference:

Güner, Fatma Elif Genceli, Sakurai, Toshimitsu, Hondoh, Takeo (2013) Ernstburkeite, Mg(CH3SO3)2·12H2O, a new mineral from Antarctica. European Journal of Mineralogy, 25 (1) 78-83 doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2013/0025-2257

Classification of ErnstburkeiteHide

Strunz-mindat (2026):

10.CA.55

10 : ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
C : Miscellaneous Organic Minerals
A : Miscellaneous Organic Minerals

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference for Standard
Ebu	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of ErnstburkeiteHide

Lustre:

Waxy

Comment:

Most physical properties were collected on synthetic material.

Colour:

Colourless

Streak:

White

Comment:

Mohs hardness is lower than 2

Tenacity:

Sectile

Cleavage:

None Observed

Parting:

Good

Fracture:

Conchoidal

Density:

1.364 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Optical Data of ErnstburkeiteHide

Type:

Uniaxial (+)

RI values:

n_ω = 1.402(1) n_ε = 1.408(1)

Max. Birefringence:

δ = 0.006
Based on recorded range of RI values above.

Interference Colours:
The colours simulate birefringence patterns seen in thin section under crossed polars. They do not take into account mineral colouration or opacity.

Michel-Levy Bar The default colours simulate the birefringence range for a 30 µm thin-section thickness. Adjust the slider to simulate a different thickness.

Grain Simulation You can rotate the grain simulation to show how this range might look as you rotated a sample under crossed polars. Each grain retains its interference colour (retardation) while its brightness falls to black at extinction and reaches a maximum between extinction positions.

Thickness: 30 µm Order divisions

Rotation:

Surface Relief:

Moderate

Pleochroism:

Non-pleochroic

Comments:

Optical properties were collected on synthetic material.

Chemistry of ErnstburkeiteHide

Mindat Formula:

Mg(CH₃SO₃)₂ · 12H₂O

Element Weights:

Element	% weight
O	66.868 %
S	14.890 %
H	7.021 %
Mg	5.643 %
C	5.578 %

Calculated from ideal end-member formula.

Elements listed:

C, H, Mg, O, S - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of ErnstburkeiteHide

Crystal System:

Trigonal

Class (H-M):

3 - Rhombohedral

Space Group:

Cell Parameters:

a = 9.2715(1) Å, c = 21.1298(4) Å

Ratio:

a:c = 1 : 2.279

Unit Cell V:

1572.99 Å³

Crystal StructureHide

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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Link	Year	Locality	Pressure (GPa)	Temp (K)
0019772	Ernstburkeite	Genceli Guner F E , Lutz M, Sakurai T, Spek A L, Hondoh T (2010) Crystallization and characterization of magnesium methanesulfonate hydrate Mg(CH3SO3)212H2O* Crystal Growth & Design 10 4327-4333		2010	synthetic	0	110

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Ernstburkeite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Genceli Guner F E '
'Lutz M'
'Sakurai T'
'Spek A L'
'Hondoh T'
_journal_name_full 'Crystal Growth & Design'
_journal_volume 10 
_journal_year 2010
_journal_page_first 4327
_journal_page_last 4333
_publ_section_title
;
 Crystallization and characterization of magnesium methanesulfonate
 hydrate Mg(CH3SO3)2*12H2O
 Note: T = 110 K
;
_database_code_amcsd 0019772
_chemical_compound_source 'Synthetic'
_chemical_formula_sum 'Mg S2 C2 O18 H30'
_cell_length_a 9.27150
_cell_length_b 9.27150
_cell_length_c 21.1298
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 90
_cell_angle_gamma 120
_cell_volume 1572.990
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      1.364
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'R -3'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  '2/3+x,1/3+y,1/3+z'
  '1/3+x,2/3+y,2/3+z'
  'y,-x+y,-z'
  '2/3+y,1/3-x+y,1/3-z'
  '1/3+y,2/3-x+y,2/3-z'
  '-x+y,-x,z'
  '2/3-x+y,1/3-x,1/3+z'
  '1/3-x+y,2/3-x,2/3+z'
  '-x,-y,-z'
  '2/3-x,1/3-y,1/3-z'
  '1/3-x,2/3-y,2/3-z'
  '-y,x-y,z'
  '2/3-y,1/3+x-y,1/3+z'
  '1/3-y,2/3+x-y,2/3+z'
  'x-y,x,-z'
  '2/3+x-y,1/3+x,1/3-z'
  '1/3+x-y,2/3+x,2/3-z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
Mg   0.00000   0.00000   0.00000   0.01224
S   0.66667   0.33333   0.03920   0.01519
C   0.66667   0.33333  -0.04396   0.04550
O1   0.19610   0.16209   0.05555   0.02002
O2   0.50862   0.19142   0.05909   0.02350
O3   0.20571   0.32811   0.16638   0.01987
H1   0.29200   0.17640   0.05390   0.03600
H2   0.19010   0.20590   0.08960   0.03900
H3   0.65550   0.22960  -0.05760   0.05900
H4   0.18140   0.27160   0.19960   0.03500
H5   0.14160   0.36870   0.16800   0.04000
loop_
_atom_site_aniso_label
_atom_site_aniso_U_11
_atom_site_aniso_U_22
_atom_site_aniso_U_33
_atom_site_aniso_U_12
_atom_site_aniso_U_13
_atom_site_aniso_U_23
Mg 0.01228 0.01228 0.01216 0.00614 0.00000 0.00000
S 0.01560 0.01560 0.01437 0.00780 0.00000 0.00000
C 0.06050 0.06050 0.01530 0.03030 0.00000 0.00000
O1 0.01517 0.02384 0.01958 0.00865 -0.00350 -0.00739
O2 0.01609 0.01804 0.03220 0.00538 -0.00179 0.00431
O3 0.01960 0.02174 0.01923 0.01106 0.00087 -0.00060

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
7.04 Å	(42)
6.39 Å	(39)
4.64 Å	(100)
4.41 Å	(44)
3.87 Å	(89)
3.75 Å	(31)
3.74 Å	(35)

Locality:

Dome Fuji station, East Antarctica, Antarctica

Reference:

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
Stage 3b: Earth’s earliest hydrosphere	>4.45
18 : Minerals formed by freezing

Type Occurrence of ErnstburkeiteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Dome Fuji station, East Antarctica, Antarctica

General Appearance of Type Material:

Solid inclusions of a few microns hosted in ice.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

In a cold room (-50 °C) at the Institute of Low Temperature Science at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan (catalogue No. 81,616).

Geological Setting of Type Material:

In an Antarctic ice core.

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Gypsum

Ice

Reference:

Synonyms of ErnstburkeiteHide

IMA2010-059

Other Language Names for ErnstburkeiteHide

Dutch:Ernstburkeiet

German:Ernstburkeit

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

10.CA.	Allantoin	C₄H₆N₄O₃	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
10.CA.	Pabellóndepicaite	Cu²⁺₂(N₃C₂H₂)₂(NH₃)₂(NO₃)Cl · 2H₂O	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnna
10.CA.	Bojarite	Cu₃(N₃C₂H₂)₃(OH)Cl₂ · 6H₂O	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m)
10.CA.	Natrosulfatourea	Na₂(SO₄)[CO(NH₂)₂]	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pbcn
10.CA.	'Tholins'	(C,H,N)
10.CA.	Fuchunite	Ba(C₂H₃O₃)₂(C₂H₄O₃)₂	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
10.CA.05	Refikite	C₂₀H₃₂O₂	Orth. 222 : P2₁2₁2
10.CA.10	Flagstaffite	C₁₀H₂₂O₃	Orth. mm2 : Fdd2
10.CA.15	Hoelite	C₁₄H₈O₂	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
10.CA.20	Abelsonite	Ni(C₃₁H₃₂N₄)	Tric. 1 : P1
10.CA.25	Kladnoite	C₆H₄(CO)₂NH	Mon. 2/m
10.CA.30	'Tinnunculite (of Chesnokov & Shcherbakova)'	C₁₀H₁₂N₈O₈	Orth.
10.CA.30	Guanine	C₅H₅N₅O	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
10.CA.35	Urea	CO(NH₂)₂	Tet. 42m : P42₁m
10.CA.40	Uricite	C₅H₄N₄O₃	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
10.CA.45	Chanabayaite	CuCl(N₃C₂H₂)(NH₃) · 0.25H₂O	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Imma
10.CA.50	Triazolite	NaCu₂(N₃C₂H₂)₂(NH₃)₂Cl₃ · 4H₂O	Orth. 222 : P2₁2₁2₁
10.CA.60	Joanneumite	Cu(C₃N₃O₃H₂)₂(NH₃)₂	Tric. 1 : P1
10.CA.65	Tinnunculite	C₅H₄N₄O₃ · 2H₂O	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
10.CA.70	'Dopplerite'		Amor.

Fluorescence of ErnstburkeiteHide

In UV light:

Non-fluorescent.

Other InformationHide

Notes:

Readily soluble in water.

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for ErnstburkeiteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-41897.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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External Links:

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Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

Mineral Dealers:

Buy from D. Joyce minerals

References for ErnstburkeiteHide

Reference List:

Williams, P. A., Hatert, F., Pasero, M., Mills, S. J. (2011) IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) Newsletter 8. Mineralogical Magazine, 75 (2) 289-294 doi:10.1180/minmag.2011.075.2.289

(2014) Ernstburkeite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for ErnstburkeiteHide

Showing 1 localities.

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

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Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.

Antarctica (TL)

East Antarctica

ⓘ Dome Fuji station (TL)

Williams et al. (2011) +1 other reference

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Ernstburkeite