Berzelianite

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berzelianite
Berzelianite, Calcite-361052.jpg
Berzelianite in coarse-grained calcite from the type locality Skrikerum, Valdemarsvik, Östergötland, Sweden (size: 5.4 cm × 3.6 cm × 3.4 cm)
General and classification
other names
  • Selenium bond koppar
  • Selenium copper (séleniure de cuivre)
  • Selenium (o) cuprite
  • Selenite
  • Berzelin
chemical formula Cu 2 Se
Mineral class
(and possibly department) 		Sulfides and sulfosalts
System no. to Strunz
and to Dana 		2.BA.15a ( 8th edition : II / B.03)
04/02/10/01
Similar minerals Athabascaite, bellidoite, crookesite, sabatierite, umangite
Crystallographic Data
Crystal system cubic
Crystal class ; symbol cubic hexakisoctahedral; 4 / m  3  2 / m
Space group Fm 3 m (No. 225)Template: room group / 225
Lattice parameters a  = 5.694  Å
Formula units Z  = 4
Physical Properties
Mohs hardness 2, Vickers hardness VHN 100 = 21-24 kg / mm 2
Density (g / cm 3 ) measured: 6.71; calculated: 7.28
Cleavage is missing
Break ; Tenacity uneven; pliable to malleable
colour silver white, lead gray, bluish gray
Line color grey black
transparency opaque (opaque)
shine Metallic luster
Crystal optics
Birefringence isotropic, sometimes slightly anisotropic
Other properties
Chemical behavior Soluble in concentrated nitric acid. Meltable in front of the soldering tube.
Special features quickly turns brown to black in humid air containing SO 2

Berzelianite , outdated also known as selenium copper , selenocuprite , selenite or berzelin , is a relatively rare mineral from the mineral class of " sulfides and sulfosalts " with the chemical formula Cu 2 Se. From a chemical point of view, berzelianite is therefore a copper (I) selenide , which is structurally related to sulfides. Berzelianite always has a low S content and therefore a Se deficit (Cu 2 – x Se).

Berzelianite crystallizes in a cubic crystal system and develops predominantly fine-grained to massive aggregates, thin dendritic crusts and powdery inclusions. Well-formed crystals are unknown.

Etymology and history

Jöns Jakob Berzelius not only discovered the element selenium, but was also the first to characterize the Berzelianite von Skrikerum, later named after him, as copper selenide

The mining engineer (Bergsvetenskapsman) Eric Thomas Svedenstierna is considered the discoverer of Berzelianite, who found the mineral in Skrikerum and left it to the Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius for analysis. This analyzed already in 1818 and called it by the determined main constituents selenium and copper as koppar selenium collars . The first description was in 1824 by the French mineralogist François Sulpice Beudant as séleniure de cuivre , later (1832) Beudant named the mineral in honor of Berzelius as Berzelin . In order to avoid confusion with a white Haüyn variety, also named Berzelin by Louis Albert Necker de Saussiere in 1831 , James Dwight Dana changed this name to Berzelianite in 1850. Berzelianite must not be confused with the arsenate mineral berzeliite .

Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848) is the father of analytical chemistry and the inventor of chemical symbols. He discovered the chemical elements cerium , selenium and thorium and - together with students - erbium , lanthanum , lithium , terbium and yttrium . He was the first to present tantalum , titanium , silicon , vanadium and zirconium in pure form.

classification

Already in the outdated, but still in use 8th edition of the mineral classification according to Strunz , the berzelianite belonged to the mineral class of "sulfides and sulfosalts" and there to the department of "sulfides, selenides and tellurides with a ratio of metal: S, Se, Te> 1: 1 “, Where together with athabascaite , bellidoite , crookesite , sabatierite and umangite it formed the unnamed group II / B.03 .

The 9th edition of Strunz's mineral systematics , which has been in effect since 2001 and is used by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), also classifies berzelianite in the category of "Metal sulfides, M: S> 1: 1 (mainly 2: 1)". This is, however, further subdivided according to the predominant metals in the compound, so that the mineral can be found according to its composition in the sub-section "with copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au)", where it is the only member unnamed group forms 2.BA.15a .

The systematics of minerals according to Dana , which is mainly used in the English-speaking world , assigns berzelianite to the class of "sulfides and sulfosalts" and there in the department of "sulfide minerals". Here he is the only member of the unnamed group 04/02/10 within the subsection “Sulphides - including selenides and tellurides - with the composition Am Bn Xp, with (m + n): p = 2: 1”.

Crystal structure

Berzelianite crystallizes in the cubic crystal system in the space group Fm 3 m (space group no. 225) with the lattice parameter a  = 5.694  Å and four formula units per unit cell . Template: room group / 225

It has been known since 1975 that, in addition to berzelianite, there is a tetragonal high-temperature form for Cu 2 Se, known as bellidoite, β-Cu 2 Se (deep berzelianite). The space group of this low-temperature form is P 4 2 / n (No. 86) and the lattice parameters are a  = 11.52  Å ; c  = 11.74 Å; with 32 formula units per unit cell . Template: room group / 86

Berzelianite has a face-centered cubic lattice (antifluorite lattice) with a cubic closest packing of selenium atoms, with the copper atoms in tetragonal and trigonal positions.

properties

morphology

Berzelianite is never found in clear crystals, but exclusively in the form of thin dendritic crusts of great complexity (comparable to pyrolusite ), in fine-grained masses of tiny crystals and finely distributed as powdery inclusions (pigment) in coarse calcite. Up to 50 cm thick berzelianite accumulations were found in the partial deposits of the Czech district Rožna – Olší. Myrmecite adhesions with crookesite are widespread. In Schlema-Alberoda, berzelianite forms coarse, massive to, more rarely, radiating aggregates in radiating to myrmekite-like adhesions with eukairite or umangite. In these aggregates it is displaced by Clausthalit . Occasional segregation lamellae from naumannite can be found in berzelianite .

physical and chemical properties

The aggregates of berzelianite are silver-white (white to green-blue or light-blue), but like many selenides they tarnish characteristically. The discoloration of bronze, gray, gray-blue to black is very typical. After a long time, a brown to black powder develops on the mineral surface , which is attributed to the influence of humid / SO 2 -containing air. The line color of the shiny metal Berzelianite is described as "shiny". With a Mohs hardness of 2, berzelianite is one of the soft minerals that, like the reference mineral plaster, can be scratched with the fingernail.

In the reflected light (cut), Berzelianite is gray-blue-white with a - after the cut - rapid color change to indigo blue and shows a fairly moderately high reflection behavior (in air). The reflection behavior is greatly reduced in oil; the shade of blue becomes much stronger. Compared to Clausthalite , berzelianite - in air and oil - is much darker, compared to Tiemannite it is significantly lighter. Reflection pleochroism is absent, anisotropy effects in crossed polars are at most traces. Berzelianite is not radioactive, but is often accompanied by radioactive minerals.

Berzelianite is soluble in concentrated nitric acid. Before the soldering tube on charcoal, selenium fumes (smell of rotten radish) can be melted into a gray metal ball. With soda copper grain. In the open tube, a red sublimate of selenium and white crystals of SeO 2 are formed .

Modifications and varieties

The compound Cu 2 Se is dimorphic and occurs naturally as tetragonally crystallizing bellidoite in addition to the cubic crystallizing berzelianite . Other copper selenides in addition to these minerals are umangite, Cu 3 Se 2 , and athabascaite, Cu 5 Se 4 . There is a complete series of mixed crystals between the cubic high-temperature modification of digigenite and berzelianite. Berzelianite always has a low S content and therefore a Se deficit (Cu 2 – x Se with x ≈ 0.12). Stoichiometric Cu 2 Se only becomes cubic at 140 ° C.

Education and Locations

Berzelianite from the Bukov mine, Žďár nad Sázavou , Moravia, Czech Republic (size 39 mm × 34 mm × 15 mm)

Berzelianite is found mainly on hydrothermal selenium veins in carbonate rocks (e.g. Lerbach), in calcite veins in serpentine (Skrikerum), in gold-quartz-orthoclase deposits (Redjang-Lebong, Sumatra) and in low-temperature hydrothermal iron ores. Begleitminerale are other selenides as Aguilarit , Athabascait, Clausthalit, crookesite, Eukairit, Klockmannit , Schlemait , Tiemannite and Umangite, Ag-Au minerals such Stromeyerite , Polybasit , Pearceit and gold , uranium minerals such as uraninite (pitchblende) Coffinite and Brannerit and Pyrite , marcasite and calcite . Secondary minerals containing selenium such as the selenites chalcomenite and ahlfeldite are also found locally in paragenesis .

As a rare mineral formation, Berzelianite could only be detected at a few sites, whereby so far (as of 2016) around 70 sites are known. The type locality is the “Skrikerum” Cu-Ag-Pb-Se deposit near Tryserum, Valdemarsvik , Östergötland , Sweden . Another Swedish site is the Glava copper field (Yttre Rud Mines) near Glava, Arvika , Värmland .

Important sites in Germany are the “St. Lorenz ”and“ Charlotte ”on the Burgstätter Gangzug, Clausthal-Zellerfeld ,“ Weintraube ”near Lerbach ,“ Brummerjahn ”near Zorge ,“ Red Bear ”near St. Andreasberg (all in Lower Saxony ), as well as the Eskaborner tunnel near Tilkerode and the Grauwackesteinbruch Rieder near Gernrode (both Saxony-Anhalt ), all in the Harz . Other German sites are the Wölsendorf Ost revier in the Wölsendorf fluorite mining area , Upper Palatinate , and the Christa mine near Großschloppen in the Fichtel Mountains , both Franconia and Bavaria , and the Müllenbach uranium deposit near Baden-Baden , Black Forest , Baden-Württemberg . From the deposit area Niederschlema-Alberoda near Hartenstein ( Saxony ) with other copper selenides from the corridors "Ruhmvoll", shaft 366, and "Tiber", shaft 371, as well as "Borna III", "Karin", "Ilsede", "Monika", “Bozen”, etc. The only known site in Austria so far is a selenide deposit on Eselberg near Altenberg an der Rax in Styria . In Switzerland from Weierfeld , Rheinfelden , Aargau . In the Czech Republic ( Moravia ) from selenium mineralization in uraninite-calcite veins, e.g. B. from the Habrí, Bukov and Rožná I mines near Žďár nad Sázavou, which belong to the Rožná deposit , and from uranium deposits near Nové Město na Moravě such as Petrovice near Žďár u Blanska , Škrdlovice and Slavkovice; from Tišnovská Nová Ves , from Zálesí , Olomouc region . From the uranium deposit Předbořice ( Kovářov ) near Krásna Hora , Bohemia .

In Canada from the uranium deposits “Pinky Fault”, Lake Athabasca “Martin Lake Mine” and the “Eagle Claims”, both Beaverlodge Area, all Saskatchewan . In the USA from the "Chihuahua stope" in the "Durant Vein", Aurora District, Mineral Co. , and the Gold Circle District (Midas District), Elko County , Nevada , as well as the "Cannon Mine" at Wenatchee, Chelan Co. , Washington . In Mexico from the "Mina Ojuela", Mapimí, Mun. de Mapimí, Durango . From the "Elefante Prospect" not far from the Au-Pd-Pt deposit Serra Pelada, Curionópolis , Pará , Brazil . From the "El Dragón Mine", Antonio Quijarro province , Potosí , Bolivia , with neon blue chalcomenite microcrystals with a thin crust of pale lime green ahlfeldite. From the “Mina Tumiñico”, the “Mina Las Asperezas” and the “El Tolar” deposit, all Sierra de Cacho , La Rioja province , and from a selenium-rich ore on the Cerro de Cacheuta in the Sierra of the same name , Mendoza , all Argentina .

From the Great Boulder Mine, Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Copper Hills, eastern Pilbara region , both Western Australia , and at El Sharana, Northern Territory , all Australia . Also from Lebong Donok Mine, Rejang Lebong Governorate, Bengkulu Province , Sumatra , Indonesia . In the La'erma gold deposit, Luqu, ( Gansu Province ), the Yutangba selenium deposit, Enshi Co. ( Hubei Province ), the Tongchang copper deposit, Dexing Co. ( Jiangxi Province ), and the Luchang-Datongchang Ag-Cu deposit, Huili Co. ( Sichuan Province ), all of China .

Further points of discovery are z. B. in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Poland , Russia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

use

Berzelianite consists of about 62% copper and about 38% selenium, but is technically insignificant due to its rarity as a raw material for these elements. However, berzelianite is one of the selenium ores that were selectively mined and smelted from 1961–1965 in the Niederschlema-Alberoda deposit area in Saxony .

See also

literature

  • Berzelianite . In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Eds.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America . 2001 ( handbookofmineralogy.org [PDF; 62 kB ; accessed on August 26, 2017]).

Web links

Commons : Berzelianite  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jöns Jakob Berzelius: III. Undersökning af en ny Mineral-kropp, funnen i de orenare sorterna af det vid Fahlun tillverkade svaflet. 12. Undersökning om forekommandet af selenium i mineralriket . In: Afhandlingar Fysik, Kemi, och Mineralogi . tape 6 . Verlag Hermann Eduard Anton , Halle 1818, p. 142–144 ( available online in Afhandlingar Fysik, Kemi, och Mineralogi pp. 142–144 in the Google book search).
  2. ^ Bernhard Pracejus: The ore minerals under the microscope, An optical guide . 2nd Edition. Elsevier, Amsterdam 2015, ISBN 978-0-444-62725-4 , pp. 202 f .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Berzelianite . In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Eds.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America . 2001 ( handbookofmineralogy.org [PDF; 62  kB ; accessed on August 26, 2017]).
  4. ↑ a b c Stefan Weiss: The large Lapis mineral directory. All minerals from A - Z and their properties . 6th completely revised and supplemented edition. Weise, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-921656-80-8 .
  5. ↑ Mindat - Berzelianite
  6. ^ A b Carl Hintze : Handbook of Mineralogy. First volume. First division . 1st edition. Verlag Veit & Co., Leipzig 1904, p.  543-544 .
  7. ↑ a b Rudolf Duthaler, Stefan Weiß: Clean, prepare and store minerals. The workbook for the collector . 1st edition. Christian Weise Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-921656-70-9 , p. 92, 98-99 .
  8. ↑ a b c d Hugo Strunz , Ernest H. Nickel : Strunz Mineralogical Tables. Chemical-structural Mineral Classification System . 9th edition. E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (Nägele and Obermiller), Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-510-65188-X , p.  77 .
  9. ↑ a b c d e f Paul Ramdohr : The ore minerals and their adhesions . 4th, revised and expanded edition. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1975, p.  502-503 .
  10. ^ Wilhelm von Hisinger : Attempt of a mineralogical geography of Sweden. Translated and provided with explanations and additions by KA Blöde . 1st edition. Craz and Gerlach, Freyberg 1819, p.  528-529 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  11. ^ François Sulpice Beudant : Traité Élémentaire de Minéralogie Vol. II . 2nd Edition. Verdière, Paris 1832, p.  534 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  12. ↑ a b c d Friedrich Klockmann : Klockmann's textbook of mineralogy . Ed .: Paul Ramdohr , Hugo Strunz . 16th edition. Enke, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-432-82986-8 , pp.  421 (first edition: 1891).
  13. ↑ Webmineral - Berzelianite
  14. ↑ a b Ulrich Lipp, Siegfried Flach: Bismuth, cobalt, nickel and silver ores in the northern part of the Schneeberg deposit district . In: Sächsisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft und Geologie, Dresden (Hrsg.): Mining in Saxony. Mining monograph . tape 10 , 2008.
  15. ^ DC Harris, LJ Cabri, S. Kaiman: Athabascaite: a new copper selenide mineral from Martin Lake, Saskatchewan . In: Canadian Mineralogist . tape 10 , 1969, p. 207–215 ( rruff.info [PDF; 698 kB ; accessed on August 26, 2017]).
  16. ↑ JW Earley: Description and synthesis of the selenide minerals . In: American Mineralogist . tape 35 , 1950, pp. 337–364 ( rruff.info [PDF; 1.9 MB ]).
  17. ↑ Cassian Pirard, Frédéric Hatert: The sulfides and selenide of the musonoi mine, Kolwezi, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo . In: Canadian Mineralogist . tape 46 , 2008, p. 219-231 , doi : 10.3749 / canmin.46.1.219 .
  18. ↑ Mindat - Number of localities for Berzelianite
  19. ^ A b Axel Hiller, Werner Schuppan: Geology and uranium mining in the Schlema-Alberoda district . In: Sächsisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft und Geologie, Dresden (Hrsg.): Mining in Saxony. Mining monograph . tape 14 , 2008.
  20. ^ Alfred Stelzner : Mineralogical observations in the area of ​​the Argentine Republic . In: Tschermaks Mineralogische Mittheilungen . tape  1873 . Verlag Wilhelm Braumüller, Vienna 1873, p. 219–254 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  21. ↑ Find location list for berzelianite at the Mineralienatlas and at Mindat