Oxyplumboroméite, Pb2Sb2O7, is a new mineral of the roméite group of the pyrochlore supergroup (IMA 2013-042). It is found together with calcite and leucophoenicite in fissure fillings in tephroite skarn at the Harstigen mine, Värmland, Sweden. The mineral occurs as yellow to brownish yellow rounded grains or imperfect octahedra. Oxyplumboroméite has a Mohs hardness of ∼5, a calculated density of 6.732 g/cm3 and is isotropic with a calculated refractive index of 2.061. Oxyplumboroméite is cubic, space group Fdm, with the unit-cell parameters a = 10.3783(6) Å, V = 1117.84(11) Å3 and Z = 8. The strongest five X-ray powder-diffraction lines [d in Å(I)(hkl)] are: 2.9915(100)(222), 2.5928(32)(400), 1.8332(48)(440), 1.5638(38)(622) and 1.1900(12)(662). The crystal structure of oxyplumboroméite was refined to an R1 index of 3.02% using 160 unique reflections collected with MoKα radiation. Electron microprobe analyses in combination with crystal-structure refinement, infrared, Mössbauer and electronic absorption spectroscopy resulted in the empirical formula A(Pb0.92Ca0.87Mn0.09Sr0.01Na0.05)Σ1.93B(Sb1.73Fe3+0.27)Σ2.00X+Y[O6.64(OH)0.03]Σ6.67. Oxyplumboroméite is the Pb analogue of oxycalcioroméite, ideally Ca2Sb2O7.

The new mineral species oxycalcioroméite, Ca2Sb5+2O6O, has been discovered at the Buca della Vena mine, Stazzema, Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy. It occurs as euhedral octahedra, up to 0.1 mm in size, embedded in dolostone lenses in the baryte + pyrite + iron oxides ore. Associated minerals are calcite, cinnabar, derbylite, dolomite, hematite, 'mica', pyrite, sphalerite and 'tourmaline'. Oxycalcioroméite is reddish-brown in colour and transparent. It is isotropic, with ncalc = 1.950.

Electron microprobe analysis gave (wt.%; n = 6) Sb2O5 63.73, TiO2 3.53, SnO2 0.28, Sb2O3 10.93, V2O3 0.68, Al2O3 0.28, PbO 0.68, FeO 5.52, MnO 0.13, CaO 13.68, Na2O 0.83, F 1.20, O = F – 0.51, total 100.96. No H2O, above the detection limit, was indicated by either infrared or micro-Raman spectroscopies. The empirical formula, based on 2 cations at the B site, is (Ca1.073Fe2+0.338Sb3+0.330Na0.118Pb0.013Mn0.008)Σ=1.880(Sb5+1.734Ti0.194V0.040Al0.024Sn0.008)Σ=2.000(O6.682F0.278)Σ6.960. The crystal structure study gives a cubic unit cell, space group Fdm, with a 10.3042(7) Å, V 1094.06(13) Å3, Z = 8. The five strongest X-ray powder diffraction lines are [d(Å)I(visually estimated)(hkl)]: 3.105(m)(311); 2.977(s)(222); 2.576(m)(400); 1.824(ms)(440); and 1.556(ms)(622). The crystal structure of oxycalcioroméite has been solved by X-ray single-crystal study on the basis of 114 observed reflections, with a final R1 = 0.0114. It agrees with the general features of the members of the pyrochlore supergroup.

Fluorcalcioroméite, (Ca,Na)2Sb25+(O,OH)6F, is a new roméite-group, pyrochlore-supergroup mineral (IMA 2012-093), from Starlera mine, Ferrera, Hinterrhein district, Grischun, Switzerland. The intimately associated minerals are: braunite, hematite, calcite, quartz and, rarely, wallkilldellite-(Mn). It occurs as euhedral octahedra, untwinned, from 0.1 to 1 mm in size. The crystals are yellow to orange and translucent; the streak is white, and the lustre is vitreous to resinous. It is non-fluorescent under ultraviolet light. Mohs' hardness is ∼5½, tenacity is brittle. Cleavage is not observed; fracture is conchoidal. The calculated density is 5.113 g/cm3. The mineral is isotropic, ncalc. = 1.826. The Raman spectrum is dominated by bands of Sb–O octahedral bond stretching and O–Sb–O bending modes. The chemical composition (n = 13) is (by wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), H2O calculated by difference, wt.%): Na2O 4.11, CaO 15.41, MnO 0.54, CuO 0.01, ZnO 0.01, PbO 0.02, Al2O3 0.10, FeO 0.50, Y2O3 0.07, SiO2 0.04, TiO2 0.01, UO2 0.01, Sb2O5 76.18, WO3 0.78, F 2.79, H2O 0.59, O = F–1.17, total 100.00. The empirical formula, based on 2 cations at the B site, is (Ca1.16Na0.56☐0.22Fe0.032+ Mn0.032+)Σ2.00(Sb5+1.98Al0.01W0.01)Σ2.00O6[F0.62(OH)0.28O0.06☐0.04]Σ1.00. The strongest eight X-ray powder-diffraction lines [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are: 5.934(81)(111), 3.102(20)(311), 2.969(100)(222), 2.572(6)(400), 1.979(7)(333), 1.818(8)(440), 1.551(15)(622), and 1.484(5)(444). The crystal structure refinement (R1 = 0.0106) gave the following data: cubic, Fdm, a = 10.2987(8) Å, V = 1092.31(15) Å3, Z = 8. Unit-cell parameters refined from the powder data are: a = 10.284(2), V = 1087.7(7) Å3, Z = 8.

Four specimens of the roméite-group minerals oxyplumboroméite and fluorcalcioroméite from the Långban Mn-Fe deposit in Central Sweden were structurally and chemically characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The data obtained and those on additional roméite samples from literature show that the main structural variations within the roméite group are related to variations in the content of Pb2+, which is incorporated into the roméite structure via the substitution Pb2+→A2+ where A2+ = Ca, Mn and Sr. Additionally, the cation occupancy at the six-fold coordinated B site, which is associated with the heterovalent substitution BFe3+ + Y☐→BSb5++YO2-, can strongly affect structural parameters.

Chemical formulae of the roméite minerals group are discussed. According to crystal-chemical information, the species associated with the name ‘kenoplumboroméite’, hydroxycalcioroméite and fluorcalcioroméite most closely approximate end-member compositions Pb2(SbFe3+)O6☐, Ca2(Sb5+Ti) O6(OH) and (CaNa)Sb2O6F, respectively. However, in accord with pyrochlore nomenclature rules, their names correspond to multiple end-members and are best described by the general formulae: (Pb,#)2(Sb,#)2O6☐, (Ca,#)2(Sb,#)2O6(OH) and (Ca,#)Sb2(O,#)6F, where ‘#’ indicates an unspecified charge-balancing chemical substituent, including vacancies.