Laurite is an opaque black, metallic ruthenium sulfide mineral with formula: RuS₂. It crystallizes in the

isometric The term ''isometric'' comes from the Greek for "having equal measurement". isometric may mean: * Cubic crystal system, also called isometric crystal system * Isometre, a rhythmic technique in music. * "Isometric (Intro)", a song by Madeon from ...

system. It is in the pyrite structural group. Though rare, it occurs in many parts of the world. Laurite has a Mohs hardness of 7.5 and a specific gravity of 6.43. It can contain

osmium Osmium (from Greek grc, ὀσμή, osme, smell, label=none) is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, bluish-white transition metal in the platinum group that is found as a trace element in alloys, mos ...

, rhodium, iridium, and iron substituting for the ruthenium. The sulfur is present as the disulfide ion, , so the ruthenium is in the Ru(II) oxidation state.

Discovery and occurrence

It was discovered in 1866 in Borneo, Malaysia and named for Laurie, the wife of Charles A. Joy, an American chemist. It occurs in ultramafic magmatic cumulate deposits and sedimentary placer deposits derived from them. It occurs associated with cooperite, braggite, sperrylite, other minerals of the platinum group elements and

chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can s ...

. Synthetic RuS₂ is a highly active catalyst for

hydrodesulfurization Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is a catalytic chemical process widely used to remove sulfur (S) from natural gas and from refined petroleum products, such as gasoline or petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel, and fuel oils. The purpose of remov ...

References

Disulfides Ruthenium minerals Pyrite group Transition metal dichalcogenides Cubic minerals Minerals in space group 205 Ruthenium(II) compounds Minerals described in 1866 {{sulfide-mineral-stub