
The sulfide minerals are a class of
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
s containing
sulfide
Sulfide (also sulphide in British English) 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 large families o ...
(S
2−) or
disulfide
In chemistry, a disulfide (or disulphide in British English) is a compound containing a functional group or the anion. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or sometimes a disulfide bridge and usually derived from two thiol groups.
In inorg ...
() as the major
anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal
ores. The sulfide class also includes the
selenides, the
tellurides, the
arsenides, the
antimonides, the bismuthinides, the
sulfarsenides and the
sulfosalts.
[http://www.minerals.net/mineral/sort-met.hod/group/sulfgrp.htm Minerals.net Dana Classification, Sulfides][Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., 1986, ''Manual of Mineralogy'', Wiley, 20th ed., pp 269-293 ] Sulfide minerals are
inorganic compound
An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bondsthat is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''.
Inorgan ...
s.
Minerals
Common or important examples include:
[
* Acanthite
* Chalcocite
* Bornite
*]Galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
*Sphalerite
Sphalerite is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimentary exhalative, Carbonate-hoste ...
*Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite ( ) 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 Mohs scale, hardness of 3.5 to 4 ...
*Pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite (''Pyrrhus of Epirus, pyrrhos'' in Greek language, Greek meaning "flame-coloured"'')'' is an iron sulfide mineral with the formula Fe(1−x)S (x = 0 to 0.125). It is a nonstoichiometric compound, nonstoichiometric variant of FeS, th ...
* Millerite
*Pentlandite
Pentlandite is an iron–nickel sulfide with the chemical formula . Pentlandite has a narrow variation range in nickel to iron ratios (Ni:Fe), but it is usually described as 1:1. In some cases, this ratio is skewed by the presence of pyrrhotite ...
* Covellite
*Cinnabar
Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...
* Realgar
*Orpiment
Orpiment, also known as ″yellow arsenic blende″ is a deep-colored, orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral with formula . It is found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot springs and may be formed through sublimatio ...
* Stibnite
* Pyrite
* Marcasite
* Molybdenite
Sulfarsenides:
* Cobaltite
* Arsenopyrite
* Gersdorffite
Sulfosalts:
* Pyrargyrite
* Proustite
* Tetrahedrite
* Tennantite
* Enargite
* Bournonite
* Jamesonite
* Cylindrite
Nickel–Strunz Classification -02- Sulfides
IMA-CNMNC proposes a new hierarchical scheme (Mills et al., 2009). This list uses the Classification of Nickel–Strunz ( mindat.org, 10 ed, pending publication).
*Abbreviations:
**"*" - discredited (IMA/CNMNC status).
**"?" - questionable/doubtful (IMA/CNMNC status).
**"REE" - Rare-earth element (Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu)
**"PGE" - Platinum-group element (Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt)
**03.C Aluminofluorides, 06 Borates, 08 Vanadates (04.H V ,6/sup> Vanadates), 09 Silicates:
***Neso: insular (from Greek νησος nēsos, island)
***Soro: grouping (from Greek σωροῦ sōros, heap, mound (especially of corn))
***Cyclo: ring
***Ino: chain (from Greek ις enitive: ινος ''inos'' fibre)
***Phyllo: sheet (from Greek φύλλον ''phyllon'', leaf)
***Tekto: three-dimensional framework
*Nickel–Strunz code scheme: NN.XY.##x
**NN: Nickel–Strunz mineral class number
**X: Nickel–Strunz mineral division letter
**Y: Nickel–Strunz mineral family letter
**##x: Nickel–Strunz mineral/group number, x add-on letter
Class: sulfides, selenides, tellurides
* 02.A Simple Sulfides, Selenides, etc.
** 02.AA Alloys of metalloids with Cu, Ag, Sn, Au: 10a Algodonite, 10b Domeykite, 10d Koutekite; 15 Novakite, 20 Cuprostibite, 25 Kutinaite, 30 Allargentum, 35 Dyscrasite, 40 Maldonite, 45 Stistaite
** 02.AB Ni-metalloid alloys: 10 Orcelite, 15 Maucherite, 20 Oregonite
** 02.AC Alloys of metalloids with PGE: 05a Atheneite, 05a Vincentite; 10a Stillwaterite, 10b Mertieite-II, 10c Arsenopalladinite; 15a Miessiite, 15a Isomertieite, 15b Mertieite-I; 20a Stibiopalladinite, 20b Palarstanide, 20c Menshikovite; 25a Palladoarsenide, 25b Rhodarsenide, 25c Palladodymite, 25d Naldretteite, 25e Majakite, 25f Palladobismutharsenide; 30 Polkanovite; 35a Genkinite, 35b Ungavaite, 40 Polarite; 45a Froodite, 45b Iridarsenite, 45c Borishanskiite
* 02.B Metal Sulfides, M:S > 1:1 (mainly 2:1)
** 02.BA With Cu, Ag, Au: 05a Chalcocite, 05b Djurleite, 05c Geerite, 05d Roxbyite, 05e Digenite, 05f Anilite; 10 Bornite; 15a Berzelianite, 15b Bellidoite, 15c Umangite, 15d Athabascaite; 20a Rickardite, 20b Weissite; 25a Stromeyerite, 25b Mckinstryite, 25c Selenojalpaite, 25c Jalpaite, 25d Eucairite, 25e Henryite; 30a Acanthite, 30a Argentite*, 30b Aguilarite, 30b Naumannite, 30c Hessite, 30d Cervelleite, 30e Stutzite; 35 Argyrodite, 35 Putzite, 35 Canfieldite; 40a Fischesserite, 40a Petzite, 40b Uytenbogaardtite, 40c Petrovskaite, 40d Penzhinite; 45 Bezsmertnovite, 50 Bogdanovite, 55 Bilibinskite, 60 Chenguodaite
** 02.BB With Ni, Fe: 05 Heazlewoodite; 10 Arsenohauchecornite, 10 Bismutohauchecornite, 10 Hauchecornite, 10 Tellurohauchecornite, 10 Tucekite; 15a Argentopentlandite, 15a Cobaltpentlandite, 15a Geffroyite, 15a Manganoshadlunite, 15a Pentlandite
Pentlandite is an iron–nickel sulfide with the chemical formula . Pentlandite has a narrow variation range in nickel to iron ratios (Ni:Fe), but it is usually described as 1:1. In some cases, this ratio is skewed by the presence of pyrrhotite ...
, 15a Shadlunite, 15b Godlevskite, 15c Sugakiite; 20 Vozhminite
** 02.BC With Rh, Pd, Pt, etc.: 05 Palladseite, 05 Miassite; 10 Oosterboschite; 15 Jagueite, 15 Chrisstanleyite; 20 Keithconnite, 25 Vasilite, 30 Telluropalladinite, 35 Luberoite, 40 Oulankaite, 45 Telargpalite, 50 Temagamite, 55 Sopcheite, 60 Laflammeite, 65 Tischendorfite, 70 Kharaelakhite
** 02.BD With Hg, Tl: 05 Imiterite, 10 Gortdrumite; 15 Balkanite, 15 Danielsite; 20 Donharrisite, 25 Carlinite; 30 Bukovite, 30 Thalcusite, 30 Murunskite; 35 Rohaite, 40 Chalcothallite, 45 Sabatierite, 50 Crookesite, 55 Brodtkorbite
** 02.BE With Pb(Bi): 05 Betekhtinite, 10 Furutobeite; 15 Rhodplumsite, 15 Shandite; 20 Parkerite, 25 Schlemaite, 30 Pasavaite
* 02.C Metal Sulfides, M:S = 1:1 (and similar)
** 02.CA With Cu: 05a Covellite, 05b Klockmannite, 05c Spionkopite, 05d Yarrowite; 10 Nukundamite, 15 Calvertite
** 02.CB With Zn, Fe, Cu, Ag, Au, etc.: 05a Rudashevskyite, 05a Hawleyite, 05a Coloradoite, 05a Metacinnabar, 05a Sphalerite
Sphalerite is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimentary exhalative, Carbonate-hoste ...
, 05a Tiemannite, 05a Stilleite, 05b Sakuraiite, 05c Polhemusite; 07.0 Arsenosulvanite?; 10a Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite ( ) 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 Mohs scale, hardness of 3.5 to 4 ...
, 10a Eskebornite, 10a Gallite, 10a Lenaite, 10a Roquesite, 10a Laforetite, 10b Haycockite, 10b Mooihoekite, 10b Putoranite, 10b Talnakhite; 15a Cernyite, 15a Hocartite, 15a Kuramite, 15a Pirquitasite, 15a Stannite, 15a Velikite, 15a Idaite, 15a Ferrokesterite, 15a Kesterite, 15b Mohite, 15c Stannoidite; 20 Chatkalite, 20 Mawsonite; 30 Colusite, 30 Germanite, 30 Germanocolusite, 30 Nekrasovite, 30 Stibiocolusite, 30 Maikainite, 30 Ovamboite; 35a Hemusite, 35a Kiddcreekite, 35a Renierite, 35a Polkovicite, 35a Morozeviczite, 35a Catamarcaite, 35a Vinciennite; 40 Lautite; 45 Cadmoselite, 45 Rambergite, 45 Greenockite, 45 Wurtzite
Wurtzite is a zinc and iron sulfide mineral with the chemical formula , a less frequently encountered Polymorphism (materials science), structural polymorph form of sphalerite. The iron content is variable up to eight percent.Palache, Charles, H ...
; 55a Cubanite, 55b Isocubanite; 60 Picotpaulite, 60 Raguinite; 65 Argentopyrite, 65 Sternbergite; 70 Sulvanite, 75 Vulcanite, 80 Empressite, 85 Muthmannite
** 02.CC With Ni, Fe, Co, PGE, etc.: 05 Zlatogorite, 05 Breithauptite, 05 Freboldite, 05 Langisite, 05 Nickeline, 05 Sederholmite, 05 Stumpflite, 05 Sudburyite, 05 Sobolevskite, 05 Achavalite, 05 Jaipurite*, 05 Hexatestibiopanickelite, 05 Kotulskite; 10 Smythite, 10 Pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite (''Pyrrhus of Epirus, pyrrhos'' in Greek language, Greek meaning "flame-coloured"'')'' is an iron sulfide mineral with the formula Fe(1−x)S (x = 0 to 0.125). It is a nonstoichiometric compound, nonstoichiometric variant of FeS, th ...
, 10 Troilite; 15 Cherepanovite, 15 Modderite, 15 Ruthenarsenite, 15 Westerveldite; 20 Makinenite, 20 Millerite; 25 Mackinawite
Mackinawite is an iron nickel sulfide mineral with the chemical formula (where x = 0 to 0.11). The mineral crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system and has been described as a distorted, close packed, cubic array of S atoms with some of t ...
, 30 Vavrinite; 35a Braggite, 35a Cooperite, 35a Vysotskite
** 02.CD With Sn, Pb, Hg, etc.: 05 Herzenbergite, 05 Teallite; 10 Altaite, 10 Galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
, 10 Clausthalite, 10 Alabandite, 10 Niningerite, 10 Oldhamite, 10 Keilite; 15a Cinnabar
Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...
, 15b Hypercinnabar
* 02.D Metal Sulfides, M:S = 3:4 and 2:3
** 02.DA M:S = 3:4: 05 Bornhardtite, 05 Florensovite, 05 Carrollite, 05 Fletcherite, 05 Daubréelite, 05 Greigite, 05 Linnaeite, 05 Kalininite, 05 Polydymite, 05 Violarite, 05 Tyrrellite, 05 Siegenite, 05 Trustedtite, 05 Cadmoindite, 05 Cuproiridsite, 05 Cuprorhodsite, 05 Dayingite*, 05 Ferrorhodsite, 05 Indite, 05 Malanite, 05 Xingzhongite; 10 Rhodostannite, 10 Toyohaite; 15 Wilkmanite, 15 Brezinaite, 15 Heideite; 20 Inaglyite, 20 Konderite; 25 Kingstonite
** 02.DB M:S = 2:3 and similar: 05 Heklaite, 05a Antimonselite, 05a Guanajuatite, 05a Bismuthinite, 05a Stibnite, 05a Metastibnite, 05b Paakkonenite; 10 Ottemannite, 10 Suredaite; 15 Bowieite, 15 Kashinite; 20 Montbrayite, 25 Edgarite, 30 Tarkianite, 35 Cameronite
** 02.DC Variable M:S: 05 Platynite?, 05a Hedleyite, 05b Nevskite, 05b Telluronevskite, 05b Ingodite, 05b Sulphotsumoite, 05b Tsumoite, 05c Kawazulite, 05c Paraguanajuatite, 05c Skippenite, 05c Tetradymite, 05c Tellurantimony, 05c Tellurobismuthite, 05d Laitakarite, 05d Ikunolite, 05d Joseite, 05d Joseite-B, 05d Pilsenite, 05e Vihorlatite, 05e Baksanite, 05e Protojoseite*, 05e Sztrokayite*
* 02.E Metal Sulfides, M:S £1:2
** 02.EA M:S = 1:2: 05 Sylvanite, 10 Calaverite; 15 Krennerite, 15 Kostovite; 20 Berndtite, 20 Merenskyite, 20 Melonite, 20 Kitkaite, 20 Moncheite, 20 Sudovikovite, 20 Shuangfengite; 25 Verbeekite; 30 Drysdallite, 30 Jordisite, 30 Molybdenite, 30 Tungstenite
** 02.EB M:S = 1:2, with Fe, Co, Ni, PGE, etc.: 05a Aurostibite, 05a Cattierite, 05a Hauerite, 05a Fukuchilite, 05a Erlichmanite, 05a Geversite, 05a Insizwaite, 05a Laurite, 05a Krutaite, 05a Pyrite, 05a Penroseite, 05a Sperrylite, 05a Vaesite, 05a Villamaninite, 05a Trogtalite, 05a Dzharkenite, 05a Gaotaiite, 05b Bambollaite; 10a Frohbergite, 10a Hastite?, 10a Ferroselite, 10a Kullerudite, 10a Mattagamite, 10a Marcasite, 10b Alloclasite, 10c Glaucodot, 10d Costibite, 10e Pararammelsbergite, 10e Paracostibite, 10f Oenite; 15a Clinosafflorite, 15a Anduoite, 15a Omeiite, 15a Lollingite, 15a Nisbite, 15a Rammelsbergite, 15a Safflorite, 15b Seinajokite; 20 Paxite, 20 Arsenopyrite, 20 Gudmundite, 20 Ruarsite, 20 Osarsite; 25 Krutovite, 25 Cobaltite, 25 Changchengite, 25 Hollingworthite, 25 Gersdorffite, 25 Irarsite, 25 Jolliffeite, 25 Padmaite, 25 Platarsite, 25 Ullmannite, 25 Tolovkite, 25 Willyamite, 25 Milotaite, 25 Kalungaite, 25 Maslovite, 25 Testibiopalladite, 25 Michenerite, 25 Mayingite; 30 Urvantsevite, 35 Rheniite
** 02.EC M:S = 1:>2: 05 Ferroskutterudite, 05 Kieftite, 05 Dienerite?, 05 Nickelskutterudite, 05 Skutterudite; 10 Patronite
* 02.F Sulfides of Arsenic, Alkalies; Sulfides with Halide, Oxide, Hydroxide, O
** 02.FA With As, (Sb), S: 05 Duranusite, 10 Dimorphite, 15a Realgar, 15b Pararealgar, 20 Alacranite, 25 Uzonite; 30 Laphamite, 30 Orpiment
Orpiment, also known as ″yellow arsenic blende″ is a deep-colored, orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral with formula . It is found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot springs and may be formed through sublimatio ...
; 35 Getchellite, 40 Wakabayashilite
** 02.FB With Alkalies (without Cl, etc.): 05 Cronusite, 05 Caswellsilverite, 05 Schollhornite; 10 Chvilevaite, 15 Orickite; 20 Rasvumite, 20 Pautovite; 25 Colimaite
** 02.FC With Cl, Br, I (halide-sulfides): 05 Djerfisherite, 05 Owensite, 05 Thalfenisite; 10 Bartonite, 10 Chlorbartonite; 15a Arzakite, 15a Corderoite, 15a Lavrentievite, 15b Kenhsuite, 15c Grechishchevite, 15d Radtkeite; 20a Capgaronnite, 20b Iltisite, 20c Perroudite; 25 Demicheleite-(Br), 25 Demicheleite-(Cl)
** 02.FD With O, OH, : 05 Kermesite, 10 Viaeneite, 20 Erdite, 25 Coyoteite; 30 Haapalaite, 30 Valleriite, 30 Yushkinite; 35 Tochilinite, 40 Wilhelmramsayite, 45 Vyalsovite, 50 Bazhenovite
* 02.X Unclassified Strunz Sulfides
** 02.XX Unknown: 00 Horsfordite?, 00 Imgreite?, 00 Bravoite?, 00 Isochalcopyrite?, 00 Bayankhanite?, 00 Dzhezkazganite*, 00 Matraite?, 00 Iridisite*, 00 Prassoite, 00 Samaniite, 00 Horomanite, 00 Jeromite?, 00 Dilithium*, 00 Kurilite?
See also
* Classification of non-silicate minerals
* Classification of silicate minerals
References
*
*
*
Webmineral New Dana Classification of Sulfide Minerals
External links
{{Strunz