Abstract
Crystal-chemical study of hexagonal 7$\AA$ phyllomanganate minerals reveals that they have hexagonal layer structures with variable c dimensions which depend on the nature of interlayer cations and content of water molecules between edge-sharing [MnO6] octahedral layers. Approximately one out of nine octahedral sites is statistically vacant, leading to the general unit cell formula R2xMn4+1-xO2.nH2O, where R=Ca, Mn2+, Mg, K, Na;x=0.09-0.14 ; n-0.37-0.84. Z=1. The minerals of this formula fall under the name of rancieite group. It includes Ca-diminant (rancieite), Mn2+-dominant (takanelite), Na-dominant (birnessite), and Mg-dominant members. Minerals of the rancieite group occur predominantly in two different hydration states, i.e., n shows the values around 0.35 and 0.75. It is suggested that minerals of higher hydration state be called as species(i.e., rancieite, etc.) and those of lower hydration state be called as dehydrated varieties(i.e., dehydrated rancieite,etc.).
