Bismuthinite

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Bismuthinite
Bismuthinite-23175.jpg
Bismuthinite from the Biggend Mine, Queensland, Australia
General and classification
other names
  • Bismuthine
  • Bismuth luster
chemical formula Bi 2 S 3
Mineral class
(and possibly department) 		Sulfides and sulfosalts
System no. to Strunz
and to Dana 		2.DB.05a ( 8th edition : II / D.08)
11/02/02/03
Crystallographic Data
Crystal system orthorhombic
Crystal class ; symbol orthorhombic-dipyramidal; 2 / m  2 / m  2 / m
Space group Pbnm (No. 62, position 3)Template: room group / 62.3
Lattice parameters a  = 11.59  Å ; b  = 11.75 Å; c  = 3.40 Å
Formula units Z  = 4
Frequent crystal faces {010}, {110}, {hk0}, {301}
Physical Properties
Mohs hardness 2 to 2.5
Density (g / cm 3 ) measured: 6.78; calculated: 6.81
Cleavage completely after {010}; imperfect after {100} and {110}
Break ; Tenacity uneven
colour lead gray, tin white
Line color lead gray
transparency opaque
shine Metallic luster
Other properties
Chemical behavior soluble in hot nitric acid

Bismuthinite , also known as bismuth luster and by its chemical name bismuth (III) sulfide , is a frequently occurring mineral from the mineral class of " sulfides and sulfosalts ". It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system with the chemical composition Bi 2 S 3 , i.e. it consists of bismuth and sulfur in a ratio of 2: 3.

Bismuthinite is opaque in every form and only rarely develops idiomorphic , needle-like to prismatic crystals , which, however, can be up to 12 centimeters in size. It is mostly found in the form of thin-leaved, fibrous or massive mineral aggregates with a lead-gray to pewter-white color and metallic sheen . Over time, bismuthinite can turn yellow or iridescent in color.

Bismuthinite forms a mixed crystal row with stibnite ( antimonite , Sb 2 S 3 ) .

Etymology and history

The mineral was first mentioned in 1758 in the mineralogical records of Axel Frederic Cronstedt (1722–1765), there, however, under the name "visimutum sulphure mineralisatum". In 1789 Abraham Gottlob Werner coined the term "bismuth shine" and in 1832 François Sulpice Beudant chose the name "bismuthine" (French bismuthine ) because of the contained element bismuth (French bismuth ).

In German, the 'h' was retained, although actually unnecessary after the neo-Latin name bismutum , but the spelling Bismuthinite (English bismuthinite ) , chosen by James Dwight Dana in 1868, with the uniform appendix -it for most mineral names prevailed.

Due to the similar spelling there is a risk of confusion with the bismuth oxide bismite and the bismuth carbonate bismuthite .

classification

In the meantime outdated 8th edition of Strunz'schen systematic mineral of Bismuthinit is part of the department of "sulfides and sulfosalts with the molar ratio of metal: sulfur, selenium, tellurium <1: 1", where he together with Antimonselit , Guanajuatit , Metastibnit , Ottemannit , Pääkkönenit and Stibnit formed the unnamed group II / D.08 .

The 9th edition of Strunz's mineral systematics , which has been in effect since 2001 and is used by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), classifies bismuthinite in the category of “metal sulfides with the molar ratio M: S = 3: 4 and 2: 3”. This is further subdivided according to the exact molar ratio of metal and sulfur, so that the mineral can be found in the sub-section "M: S = 2: 3" according to its composition, where together with antimony elite, guanajuatite, metastibnite and stibnite it is the " Stibnite group "with the system no. 2.DB.05a forms.

The systematics of minerals according to Dana , which is common in the English-speaking world , also assigns bismuthinite to the sulphide class, but in the category of "sulphides - including selenides and tellurides - with the composition A m B n X p , with (m + n)" : p = 2: 3 ". Here, together with the lead mineral stibnite and the other members antimony elite and guanajuatite, it forms the “stibnite group (Orthorhombic: Pbnm)” with system no. 11/02/02 .

Crystal structure

Crystal structure of bismuthinite

Bismuthinite crystallizes isotypically with stibnite in the orthorhombic crystal system in the space group Pbnm (space group no. 62, position 3) with the lattice parameters a = 11.59  Å ; b = 11.75 Å and c = 3.40 Å as well as four formula units per unit cell . Template: room group / 62.3

properties

Bismuthinite is easily soluble in hot nitric acid (HNO 3 ). The solution becomes cloudy when water is added.

Due to its low melting point of 685 °, bismuthinite already melts in a candle flame .

Education and Locations

Fine needle bismuthinite as a drusen filling in quartz from Cornwall , England ( total size : 5.8 × 4.7 × 3.7 cm)
Two pyrite cubes "skewered" by an approx. 1 mm long bismuthinite needle. Discovery site: Beura quarry, Beura-Cardezza , Italy
Bismuthinite, maldonite, bismuth, pyrite and Au-Ag from the Ädelfors gold mine, arranged along so-called trails, probably former cracks.

Bismuthinit forms mostly in low- to high grade hydrothermal - veins , but can also pneumatolytic in cassiterite - wolframite - deposits or as Exhalationsprodukt volcanic gases produced. Bismuth, aikinite , arsenopyrite , stannite , galena , pyrite , quartz , chalcopyrite and tourmaline can be found as accompanying minerals .

As a frequent mineral formation, bismuthinite can be found in many localities, whereby so far (as of 2013) around 1,600 localities are known. On the surface, however, bismuthinite is not very stable and after a while it becomes coated with an earthy, yellowish layer of bismite ( bismuth ocher ) or turns into bismuthite ( bismuth spar ).

In Germany, bismuthinite has already been found in many places in the Black Forest , including in the Wittichen mining area and in the Clara and Wenzel mines near Oberwolfach . Many sites are also known in the Saxon Ore Mountains , including Annaberg-Buchholz , Johanngeorgenstadt and Neustädtel (Schneeberg) . Furthermore, the mineral appeared in various mines and quarries in Bavaria (Fichtelgebirge), Hesse (Odenwald), Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt (Harz), North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate (Siegerland) and in Thuringia .

Tasna ( province of Nor Chichas ), Huanuni and Llallagua in Bolivia, where well-developed crystals over five centimeters long emerged, are known for their extraordinary bismuthinite finds. Well-developed crystals are also known from Redruth in Cornwall (England).

In Austria, bismuthine could be found on the Hüttenberger Erzberg , in several places in the Goldberg group and in the Pöllatal in Carinthia as well as in many places in the Hohe Tauern (Gastein, Habachtal) in Salzburg and in some places in Styria (Brunngraben, Schlossberg, Zinkwand ) being found.

In Switzerland, the mineral is known from the Bergell ( Val Bregaglia ) in the canton of Graubünden, the municipality of Alto Malcantone in the canton of Ticino and from the Val d'Anniviers and the Binntal in the canton of Valais.

Other locations are in Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, France, Greece, Greenland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Kazakhstan, Korea, Madagascar, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales) and the United States of America (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, California and others ).

Bismuthinite could also be detected in rock samples from the East Pacific Ridge .

use

Due to its relative abundance and its bismuth content of up to 81%, bismuthinite is used as a raw material for the extraction of elemental bismuth .

See also

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Hans Lüschen: The names of the stones. The mineral kingdom in the mirror of language . 2nd Edition. Ott Verlag, Thun 1979, ISBN 3-7225-6265-1 , p. 188, 344 .
  2. ↑ a b Webmineral - Bismuthinite
  3. ^ A b c Hugo Strunz , Ernest H. Nickel: Strunz Mineralogical Tables . 9th edition. E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (Nägele and Obermiller), Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-510-65188-X , p.  96 .
  4. ^ A b c d Helmut Schrätze, Karl-Ludwig Weiner: Mineralogie. A textbook on a systematic basis . de Gruyter, Berlin; New York 1981, ISBN 3-11-006823-0 , pp. 235-236 .
  5. ↑ a b c d Bismuthinite , In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Eds.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America , 2001 ( PDF 94.3 kB )
  6. ↑ Mindat - Number of localities for bismuthinite
  7. ↑ Petr Korbel, Milan Novák: Mineral Encyclopedia . Nebel Verlag GmbH, Eggolsheim 2002, ISBN 3-89555-076-0 , p. 40 ( Dörfler Natur ).
  8. ↑ a b List of locations where bismuthinite was found in the Mineralienatlas and Mindat