Austinite belongs to the adelite mineral group of calcium and lead ars
enates, and has the conichalcite/descloizite type of crystal structure
. The crystal structure of nearly pure austinite, CaZn(AsO4)OH, was re
determined (R = 0.014) and the absolute configuration identified. The
space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and cell parameters a 7.5092(8), b 9.0438(9)
, c 5.9343(8) Angstrom match previous data. Zinc octahedra share edges
to form chains parallel to c. Arsenic tetrahedra share vertices with
the Zn octahedra to generate a compact framework. Calcium square antip
risms share edges to make chains parallel to a that occupy the channel
s in the zinc-arsenic framework.