Christite is a mineral with the

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbol ...

Tl Hg As S₃. It is named after Dr. Charles L. Christ, a member of the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

. It usually comes in a crimson red or bright orange color. It has a density of 6.2 and has a rating between 1 and 2 on Mohs Hardness Scale. Christite has an adamantine luster and leaves behind an orange streak. Its crystal system is monoclinic with possible crystal classes of twofold symmetry, mirror plane symmetry, and twofold with a mirror plane. This means it can have radial symmetry, mirror plane symmetry, or mirror plane symmetry perpendicular to the two-fold axis.Fleischer, M., and Mandarino, J.A. (1991) Glossary of mineral species (Sixth edition). 38 p. Mineralogical Record, Tucson, Arizona. It is an anisotropic mineral, which means that it exhibits different properties when measured in different directions. In plane polarized light, its color is golden yellow. It is birefringent, which means that it has two distinct indices of refraction. This can be seen when one looks through the microscope with both polars crossed and sees the mineral change colors when it is rotated.

Occurrence

Christite occurs with baryte in

hydrothermal Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

veins Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

at the

Carlin mine Carlin may refer to: People * Carlin (name), including a list of people with the name Places * 4121 Carlin, a main belt asteroid * Carlin, Nevada, United States * Carlin How, a village in northern England, UK * Carlin Precinct, Calhoun County, I ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

and in pods within a mercury deposit, the Lanmuchang deposit, China. It occurs associate with

realgar Realgar ( ), also known as "ruby sulphur" or "ruby of arsenic", is an arsenic sulfide mineral with the chemical formula α-. It is a soft, sectile mineral occurring in monoclinic crystals, or in granular, compact, or powdery form, often in asso ...

orpiment Orpiment 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 is formed both by sublimation and as a byproduct of the decay of anothe ...

, lorandite, baryte and getchellite at the Carlin mine and with lorandite, baryte,

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

and

marcasite The mineral marcasite, sometimes called “white iron pyrite”, is iron sulfide (FeS2) with orthorhombic crystal structure. It is physically and crystallographically distinct from pyrite, which is iron sulfide with cubic crystal structure. Both ...

in the Lanmuchang.

References

* Brown, K.L., Dickson, F.W, Radtke, A.S., and Slack, J.F. (1977) Christite, a new thallium mineral from the Carlin gold deposit, Nevada. American Mineralogist, 62, 421-425. Thallium minerals Mercury(II) minerals Arsenic minerals Sulfosalt minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 14 {{sulfide-mineral-stub