Rhodplumsite is a rare

rhodium Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isoto ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

sulfide mineral The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide (S22−) as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides, the ...

, chemical formula Rh₃Pb₂S₂. It was originally discovered within a platinum nugget, in grains up to 40 μm in size. Its name originates from its composition; rhodium and lead (plumbum in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

). Although this mineral contains large amounts of rhodium, it is not an economically viable ore of rhodium due to its rarity.

References

Rhodium minerals Lead minerals Sulfide minerals Trigonal minerals Minerals in space group 166 Minerals described in 1983 {{Sulfide-mineral-stub