Hakite, ideally Cu10Hg2Sb4Se13, is a Se-dominant member of the tetrahedrite group occurring at only a few localities in the World. A new occurrence of this mineral in the Příbram uranium and base-metal ore district, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic, is reported in this paper. Hakite was found to be locally abundant and was identified in several samples with Se mineralization. Three chemically distinct types of hakite were distinguished based on electron microprobe study, Hg-rich hakite (hakite sensu stricto), Zn-rich hakite and Cd-rich hakite. Hg-hakite dominates among the samples studied. Its average empirical formula based on 29 apfu (n = 54) is (Cu5.61Ag0.39)∑6.00Cu4.00(Hg1.61Zn0.20Cu0.19Cd0.15Fe0.04)∑2.19(Sb3.85As0.28)∑4.13(Se11.55S1.14)∑12.69 . Less common is the Zn-hakite, (Cu5.80Ag0.20)∑6.00Cu4.00(Zn1.33Hg0.42Cd0.22Cu0.18Fe0.01)∑2.16(Sb3.85As0.26)∑4.11(Se10.92S1.81)∑12.73 (n = 22), and rare Cd-hakite has an empirical formula (n = 7) of (Cu5.84Ag0.16)∑6.00Cu4.00(Cd1.27Zn0.60Cu0.10Hg0.07Fe0.02)∑2.06(Sb4.00As0.19)∑4.19(Se12.14S0.61)∑12.75. The refined unit cell of Hg-hakite from Příbram, obtained from powder X-ray diffraction data, is a = 10.8783(3) Å with V = 1287.3(1) Å3 (Z = 4, for the cubic space group I4̄3m). Structure refinement from the precession electron diffraction data collected on the transmission electron microscope (R = 24.4% for 424 observed reflections), confirmed that hakite is isostructural with tetrahedrite. The evolution of hydrothermal fluids, from which Se mineralization formed, suggests a distinct enrichment in sulfur and depletion in selenium over the time span of crystallization.

A natural sodalite from the geological site Alkaline Complex of Floresta Azul, Bahia, Brazil, has been characterized by electron microprobe, infrared spectroscopy, and powder high-resolution X-ray diffraction techniques. The mineral is an aluminosilicate framework, formed by cages called sodalite unity. Although the sample is natural, the chemical analysis reveals that it is indeed the end member sodalite sensu strictu, Na8[Si6Al6O24]Cl2. Infrared spectroscopy shows Si, Al tetrahedral-oxygen stretching nonsymmetric mode, stretching symmetric mode, and bending modes. Indexing of the experimental X-ray diffraction pattern led to cubic space group P-43n, and unit-cell parameters: a=8.8767(7) Å, Dx=2.301 g cm−3, and V=699.46(1) Å3. X-ray diffraction data are reported. Rietveld refinement was also performed, and the confidence factors are Rp=0.079, Rwp=0.118, and χ2=2.19. The structure of the minerals of sodalite group holds four different tetrahedra: AlO4, ClNa4, Na(ClO3), and SiO4, with Al, Cl, Na, and Si located at the center of each tetrahedron.