Sulfide Minerals

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Sulfide Minerals

• Here you will find a short summary of the
  sulfides that you are studying in lab

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Important Sulfide Minerals

• Pyrite FeS2
• Aresonopyrite FeAsS
• Sphalerite ZnS
• Chalcopyrite CuFeS2
• Covellite
• Galena PbS
• Pyrrhotite Fe1-xS
• Cinnabar HgS
• Molybdenite MoS
• Enargite
• Oriment
• Stibnite

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Important Sulfide Minerals

• Sulfide minerals have a restricted composition
  range and solid solutions are rare
• Most sulfides (except sphalerite) are opaque
  semiconductors with metallic luster

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Sulfide parageneses

• Most sulfides are deposited by hydrothermal
  solutions (e.g., galena, sphalerite,
  chalcopyrite). Metal cations are transported by
  cl-1 complexes at high temperature.

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Sulfide parageneses

• Some are primary minerals in igneous and
  metamorphic rocks (e.g., Molybdenite, pyrrhotite)
  and crystallize from the magma.
• Sulfides also may form, in sediments under the
  reducing conditions resulting from decay of
  organic matter.

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Pyrite

• Cubic
• Most widespread sulfide mineral. Found in all
  geological environments
• Marcasite is a related polymorph formed at low
  Temperature.

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Pyrrhotite

• Found as accessory phase in igneous rocks.

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Chalcopyrte

• Primary copper mineral,in porphyry-copper
  deposits.
• Most widespread copper mineral

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Arsenopyrite

• Primary arsenic mineral

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Molybdenite

• Primary Molybdenum ore
• High temperature deposite

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Sphalerite

• Primary ore mineral for Zn

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Galena

• Primary ore mineral for Pb