Tetrahedrite | |
---|---|
General | |
Category | Sulfosalt mineral |
Formula (repeating unit) | (Cu,Fe) 12Sb 4S 13 |
Strunz classification | 2.GB.05 |
Crystal system | Cubic |
Crystal class | Hextetrahedral (43m) H-M symbol: (4 3m) |
Space group | I43m |
Unit cell | a = 10.39(16) Å; Z = 2 |
Identification | |
Color | Steel gray to iron-gray |
Crystal habit | Groups of tetrahedral crystals; massive, coarse to fine compact granular |
Twinning | Contact and penetration twins on {111} |
Cleavage | None |
Fracture | Uneven to subconchoidal |
Tenacity | Somewhat brittle |
Mohs scale hardness | 3+1⁄2 –4 |
Luster | Metallic, commonly splendent |
Streak | Black, brown to dark red |
Diaphaneity | Opaque, except in very thin fragments |
Specific gravity | 4.97 |
Optical properties | Isotropic |
Refractive index | n greater than 2.72 |
References | [1] [2] |
Tetrahedrite is a copper antimony sulfosalt mineral with formula: (Cu,Fe)
12Sb
4S
13. It is the antimony endmember of the continuous solid solution series with arsenic-bearing tennantite. Pure endmembers of the series are seldom if ever seen in nature. Of the two, the antimony rich phase is more common. Other elements also substitute in the structure, most notably iron and zinc, along with less common silver, mercury and lead. Bismuth also substitutes for the antimony site and bismuthian tetrahedrite or annivite is a recognized variety. The related, silver dominant, mineral species freibergite, although rare, is notable in that it can contain up to 18% silver.
Tetrahedrite gets its name from the distinctive tetrahedron shaped cubic crystals. The mineral usually occurs in massive form, it is a steel gray to black metallic mineral with Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4 and specific gravity of 4.6 to 5.2.
Tetrahedrite occurs in low to moderate temperature hydrothermal veins and in some contact metamorphic deposits. It is a minor ore of copper and associated metals. It was first described in 1845 for occurrences in Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. Historically, it was an important ore of copper, the formula Cu3SbS3 corresponding with 57.5% of the metal; it was also worked as an ore of silver, of which element it sometimes contains as much as 30%. [3]
The now-defunct company Alphabet Energy announced plans to offer a thermoelectric device based on tetrahedrite to turn heat into electricity. The company claimed that other thermoelectrics typically produce about 2.5 percent efficiency, while tetrahedrite could achieve 5 to 10 percent. [4]
Other thermoelectrics are either scarce, expensive ($24–146/kg vs $4 for tetrahedrite) and/or toxic. Working with a natural material also reduces manufacturing costs. [4]
Kobellite is a gray, fibrous, metallic mineral with the chemical formula Pb
22Cu
4(Bi,Sb)
30S
69. It is also a sulfide mineral consisting of antimony, bismuth, and lead. It is a member of the izoklakeite - berryite series with silver and iron substituting in the copper site and a varying ratio of bismuth, antimony, and lead. It crystallizes with monoclinic pyramidal crystals. The mineral can be found in ores and deposits of Hvena, Sweden; Ouray, Colorado; and Wake County, North Carolina, US. The mineral was named after Wolfgang Franz von Kobell (1803–1882), a German mineralogist.
Chalcopyrite ( KAL-kə-PY-ryte, -koh-) is a copper iron sulfide mineral and the most abundant copper ore mineral. It has the chemical formula CuFeS2 and crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale. Its streak is diagnostic as green tinged black.
Bornite, also known as peacock ore, is a sulfide mineral with chemical composition Cu5FeS4 that crystallizes in the orthorhombic system (pseudo-cubic).
Cuprite is an oxide mineral composed of copper(I) oxide Cu2O, and is a minor ore of copper.
Tennantite is a copper arsenic sulfosalt mineral with an ideal formula Cu12As4S13. Due to variable substitution of the copper by iron and zinc the formula is Cu6[Cu4(Fe,Zn)2]As4S13. It is gray-black, steel-gray, iron-gray or black in color. A closely related mineral, tetrahedrite (Cu12Sb4S13) has antimony substituting for arsenic and the two form a solid solution series. The two have very similar properties and is often difficult to distinguish between tennantite and tetrahedrite. Iron, zinc, and silver substitute up to about 15% for the copper site.
Ullmannite is a nickel antimony sulfide mineral with formula: NiSbS. Considerable substitution occurs with cobalt and iron in the nickel site along with bismuth and arsenic in the antimony site. A solid solution series exists with the high cobalt willyamite.
Valentinite is an antimony oxide mineral with formula Sb2O3. Valentinite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and typically forms as radiating clusters of euhedral crystals or as fibrous masses. It is colorless to white with occasional shades or tints of yellow and red. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 3 and a specific gravity of 5.76. Valentinite occurs as a weathering product of stibnite and other antimony minerals. It is dimorphous with the isometric antimony oxide senarmontite.
Bournonite is a sulfosalt mineral species, trithioantimoniate of lead and copper with the formula PbCuSbS3.
Freibergite is a complex sulfosalt mineral of silver, copper, iron, antimony and arsenic with formula (Ag,Cu,Fe)
12(Sb,As)
4S
13. It has cubic crystals and is formed in hydrothermal deposits. It forms one solid solution series with tetrahedrite and another with argentotennantite. Freibergite is an opaque, metallic steel grey to black and leaves a reddish-black streak. It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4.0 and a specific gravity of 4.85 - 5. It is typically massive to granular in habit with no cleavage and an irregular fracture.
Stephanite is a silver antimony sulfosalt mineral with formula: Ag5SbS4 It is composed of 68.8% silver, and sometimes is of importance as an ore of this metal.
Enargite is a copper arsenic sulfosalt mineral with formula Cu3AsS4. It takes its name from the Greek word enarge, "distinct". Enargite is a steel gray, blackish gray, to violet black mineral with metallic luster. It forms slender orthorhombic prisms as well as massive aggregates. It has a hardness of 3 and a specific gravity of 4.45.
Sperrylite is a platinum arsenide mineral with formula PtAs2 and is an opaque metallic tin white mineral which crystallizes in the isometric system with the pyrite group structure. It forms cubic, octahedral or pyritohedral crystals in addition to massive and reniform habits. It has a Mohs hardness of 6 - 7 and a very high specific gravity of 10.6.
Polybasite is a sulfosalt mineral of silver, copper, antimony and arsenic. Its chemical formula is [(Ag,Cu)
6(Sb,As)
2S
7][Ag
9CuS
4].
Lorándite is a thallium arsenic sulfosalt with the chemical formula: TlAsS2. Though rare, it is the most common thallium-bearing mineral. Lorandite occurs in low-temperature hydrothermal associations and in gold and mercury ore deposits. Associated minerals include stibnite, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, vrbaite, greigite, marcasite, pyrite, tetrahedrite, antimonian sphalerite, arsenic and barite.
A native metal is any metal that is found pure in its metallic form in nature. Metals that can be found as native deposits singly or in alloys include aluminium, antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, indium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, rhenium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zinc, as well as the gold group and the platinum group. Among the alloys found in native state have been brass, bronze, pewter, German silver, osmiridium, electrum, white gold, silver-mercury amalgam, and gold-mercury amalgam.
Coloradoite, also known as mercury telluride (HgTe), is a rare telluride ore associated with metallic deposit. Gold usually occurs within tellurides, such as coloradoite, as a high-finess native metal.
The silver antimonide mineral dyscrasite has the chemical formula Ag3Sb. It is an opaque, silver white, metallic mineral which crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system. It forms pyramidal crystals up to 5 cm (2.0 in) and can also form cylindrical and prismatic crystals.
Semseyite is a rarely occurring sulfosalt mineral and is part of the class of lead antimony sulfides. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system with the chemical composition Pb9Sb8S21. The mineral forms dark gray to black aggregates.
Pearceite is one of the four so-called "ruby silvers", pearceite Cu(Ag,Cu)
6Ag
9As
2S
11, pyrargyrite Ag
3SbS
3, proustite Ag
3AsS
3 and miargyrite AgSbS
2. It was discovered in 1896 and named after Dr Richard Pearce (1837–1927), a Cornish–American chemist and metallurgist from Denver, Colorado.
Chatkalite is a copper, iron, tin sulfide mineral with formula Cu6Fe2+Sn6S8. It crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system and forms as rounded dissemations within tetrahedrite in quartz veins.
Media related to Tetrahedrite at Wikimedia Commons