Selenide minerals are those
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
s that have the
selenide anion as a main component.
Selenides are similar to
sulfides
Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds la ...
and often grouped with them.
Mindat Strunz Classification
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Examples include:
* achavalite
* athabascaite
Athabascaite is a member of the copper selenide minerals, and forms with other copper selenides. It was first discovered by S. Kaiman in 1949 while he was researching radioactive materials around Lake Athabasca. Kaiman was conducting research near ...
* clausthalite
Clausthalite is a lead selenide mineral, PbSe. It forms a solid solution series with galena PbS.
Occurrence
It occurs in low-sulfur hydrothermal deposits with other selenides and in mercury deposits. It is associated with tiemannite, klockmann ...
* ferroselite
Orthorhombic ferroselite and its isometric polymorph dzharkenite are iron selenides of general formula FeSe2 precipitated under reducing conditions in anoxic environments. They are a source of selenium in the Rocky Mountains where selenium occ ...
* penroseite
Penroseite is a rare selenide mineral with formula (Ni,Co,Cu)Se2. It has a gray-steel color and black streak with a hardness of 3. It is an isometric mineral, 2/m. Penroseite was first discovered in 1925 in a Bolivian rhyolite. It was named for ...
* stilleite
Stilleite is a selenide mineral, zinc selenide, with the formula Zn Se. It has been found only as microscopic gray crystals occurring as inclusions in linnaeite associated with other selenide and sulfides. It was originally discovered in Katanga ...
* tiemannite
Tiemannite is a mineral, mercury selenide, formula HgSe. It occurs in hydrothermal veins associated with other selenides, or other mercury minerals such as cinnabar, and often with calcite. Discovered in 1855 in Germany, it is named after Johan ...
* umangite
Umangite is a copper selenide mineral, Cu3 Se2, discovered in 1891. It occurs only in small grains or fine granular aggregates with other copper minerals of the sulfide group. It has a hardness of 3. It is blue-black to red-violet in color with a ...
References
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