Tenorite is a copper

oxide mineral The oxide mineral class includes those minerals in which the oxide anion (O2−) is bonded to one or more metal alloys. The hydroxide-bearing minerals are typically included in the oxide class. The minerals with complex anion groups such as the si ...

with the chemical formula CuO.

Occurrence

Tenorite occurs in the weathered or oxidized zone associated with deeper primary

copper sulfide Copper sulfides describe a family of chemical compounds and minerals with the formula CuxSy. Both minerals and synthetic materials comprise these compounds. Some copper sulfides are economically important ores. Prominent copper sulfide minerals ...

orebodies. Tenorite commonly occurs with

chrysocolla Chrysocolla ( ) is a hydrated copper phyllosilicate mineral and mineraloid with formula (x<1) or . The structure of the mineral has been questioned, as a 2006 spectrographic study suggest material identified a ...

and the copper carbonates,

azurite Azurite is a soft, deep-blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. During the early 19th century, it was also known as chessylite, after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France. The mineral, a basic ca ...

and malachite. The dull grey-black color of tenorite contrasts sharply with the often intergrown blue

. Cuprite,

native copper Native copper is an uncombined form of copper that occurs as a natural mineral. Copper is one of the few metallic elements to occur in native form, although it most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements. Native copp ...

and Fe– Mn oxides also occur in this environment. In addition to the hydrothermal, tenorite also occurs as a volcanic sublimate from Vesuvius,

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, and Etna, Sicily, Italy. As a sublimate it occurs with copper chlorides, alkali chlorides and cotunnite. The Vesuvian sublimate occurrence was originally named ''melaconise'' or ''melaconite'' by F. S. Beudant in 1832.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press Tenorite was named in 1841 after the Italian botanist Michele Tenore (1780–1861).

References

Copper(II) minerals Oxide minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 15 {{oxide-mineral-stub

Occurrence

See also

References