Pilsenite

Pilsenite
	Microcrystalline Pilsenite from the White Elephant Mine near Vernon, British Columbia , Canada
General and classification
other names	Wehrlit
chemical formula	Bi 4 Te 3
Mineral class; (and possibly department)	Sulfides and sulfosalts (including selenides, tellurides, arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides, sulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites)
System no. to Strunz ; and to Dana	2.DC.05d ; 02.06.02.05
Crystallographic Data
Crystal system	trigonal
Crystal class ; symbol	ditrigonal-scalenohedral; 3 2 / m
Space group	R 3 m (No. 166)
Lattice parameters	a = 4.45 Å ; c = 41.94 Å
Formula units	Z = 3
Physical Properties
Mohs hardness	1.5 to 2 (VHN 25 = 48 to 60)
Density (g / cm 3 )	calculated: [8.4]
Cleavage	perfectly
colour	tin white to light steel gray
Line color	not defined
transparency	opaque
shine	Metallic luster

Pilsenite is a rarely occurring mineral from the mineral class of " sulfides and sulfosalts ". It crystallizes in the trigonal crystal system with the chemical composition Bi ₄ Te ₃ and is one of the telluride compounds related to sulphides .

Pilsenite is opaque and rarely develops tabular crystals . It is mostly found in the form of massive mineral aggregates or in alternating layers together with hessite . Its color varies between a shiny metallic pewter white and a light steel gray.

Etymology and history

Pilsenite was first discovered near Nagybörzsöny ( German-Pilsen ) in the small Hungarian area of Szob and described in 1853 by Gustav Adolf Kenngott , who named the mineral after the German name of its type locality .

classification

Pilsenite is not listed in the now outdated 8th edition of the Strunz mineral classification . Only in the Lapis mineral directory , which was revised and updated in 2018 by Stefan Weiß, which is still based on this classic system from Karl Hugo Strunz out of consideration for private collectors and institutional collections , the mineral received the system and mineral number. II / D.11-40 . In the "Lapis Classification", this corresponds to the class of "sulfides and sulfosalts" and then the department "sulfides with the molar ratio of metal: sulfur, selenium, tellurium <1: 1" where Pilsenit with Baksanit , Ikunolith , Ingodit , Joseit -A , Joséit-B , Laitakarit , Nevskit , Protojoséit , Sulphotsumoit , Sztrokayit , Telluronevskit , Tsumoit and Vihorlatit form an independent but unnamed group.

The 9th edition of Strunz's mineral systematics, valid since 2001 and updated by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) until 2009, also assigns pilsenite to the class of "sulfides and sulfosalts" and there into the department of "metal sulfides with M: S = 3: 4 and 2: 3 “. This is, however, further subdivided according to the exact molar ratio, so that the mineral can be found according to its composition in the sub-section "M: S variable", where it is found together with Ikunolith, Joséit-A, Joséit-B, Joséit-C , Laitakarit and Platynite (discredited 1999) forms the unnamed group 2.DC.05d .

The systematics of minerals according to Dana , which is mainly used in the English-speaking world , assigns pilsenite to the class of "sulphides and sulphosalts" and there in the category of "sulphide minerals". Here he is together with Babkinit , Joséit, Joséit-B, Ikunolith, Laitakarit, Poubait and Rucklidgeit in the "Joséitgruppe (Trigonal: R 3 m )" with the system no. 02.06.02 within the subsection " Sulphides - including selenides and tellurides - with the composition A _m B _n X _p , with (m + n): p = 4: 3 ". Template: room group / 166

Crystal structure

Pilsenite crystallizes trigonal in the space group R 3 m (space group no. 166) with the lattice parameters a = 4.45 Å and c = 41.94 Å as well as 3 formula units per unit cell . Template: room group / 166

Modifications and varieties

Wehrlite is on the one hand a synonym for Pilsenite, but on the other hand it also describes a mixture of Pilsenite and Hessite.

Education and Locations

Pilsenite is formed by hydrothermal processes. As Begleitminerale next Hessit among other things still occur Bismuthinit , Joseit, pentlandite , tetrahedrite and Tsumoit .

As a rare mineral formation, Pilsenite could only be detected at a few sites so far (as of 2012), with around 40 sites being known. Its Nagybörzsöny type locality is the only site in Hungary to date.

Several sites in different provinces are among others in China, Canada, Sweden, Slovakia, Uzbekistan and the United States of America (USA).

Pilsenite was also found near Vardenis in the Armenian province of Gegharkunik , Osikonmäki ( Rantasalmi ) in Finland, in the Lukhra gold deposit near Svaneti in Georgia, in the Koronuda gold-silver deposit in the Greek regional district of Kilkis , near Quarona and Varallo Sesia in Italy, in the "Mukaidani Mine" near Chino (Nagano) in Japan, near Săcărâmb in Romania, in the Talatui gold deposit in the Russian region of Transbaikalia , near Nový Knín and Jeseník in the Czech Republic, in the Ukrainian Oblast Transcarpathia , near Zarafshon ( Zarafshan ) and Zarmitan in Uzbekistan and at the Bontdduim ( Wales ) Clogau gold mine in the United Kingdom.

literature

Tohru Ozawa, Hidehiko Shimazaki: Pilsenite re-defined and wehrlite discredited . In: Proceedings of the Japan Academy . tape 58 , 1982, pp. 291–294 (English, available online at rruff.info [PDF; 2.1 MB ; accessed on May 7, 2019]).
Pete J. Dunn, Joel D. Grice, Michael Fleischer , Adolf Pabst : New mineral names . In: American Mineralogist . tape 69 , 1984, pp. 210–215 (English, available online at rruff.info [PDF; 1.1 MB ; accessed on May 7, 2019]).

Web links

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

Mineral Atlas: Pilsenite (Wiki)
David Barthelmy: Pilsenite Mineral Data. In: webmineral.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .
American-Mineralogist-Crystal-Structure-Database - Pilsenite. In: rruff.geo.arizona.edu. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e 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. 99 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Stefan Weiß: The large Lapis mineral directory. All minerals from A - Z and their properties. Status 03/2018 . 7th, completely revised and supplemented edition. Weise, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-921656-83-9 .
↑ ^a ^b Pilsenite . In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Eds.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America . 2001 (English, handbookofmineralogy.org [PDF; 63 kB ; accessed on May 7, 2019]).
↑ Ernest H. Nickel, Monte C. Nichols: IMA / CNMNC List of Minerals 2009. (PDF 1703 kB) In: cnmnc.main.jp. IMA / CNMNC, January 2009, accessed April 25, 2019 .
^ Catalog of Type Mineral Specimens - Pilsenite. (PDF 112 kB) In: docs.wixstatic.com. Commission on Museums (IMA), December 12, 2018, accessed May 7, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b Pilsenite. In: mindat.org. Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed May 7, 2019 .

[StrunzNickel-1] 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. 99 .

[Lapis-2] Stefan Weiß: The large Lapis mineral directory. All minerals from A - Z and their properties. Status 03/2018 . 7th, completely revised and supplemented edition. Weise, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-921656-83-9 .

[Datenblatt-3] Pilsenite . In: John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, Monte C. Nichols (Eds.): Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America . 2001 (English, handbookofmineralogy.org [PDF; 63 kB ; accessed on May 7, 2019]).

[IMA-Liste-2009-4] Ernest H. Nickel, Monte C. Nichols: IMA / CNMNC List of Minerals 2009. (PDF 1703 kB) In: cnmnc.main.jp. IMA / CNMNC, January 2009, accessed April 25, 2019 .

[IMA-CM-5] Catalog of Type Mineral Specimens - Pilsenite. (PDF 112 kB) In: docs.wixstatic.com. Commission on Museums (IMA), December 12, 2018, accessed May 7, 2019 .

[Mindat-6] Pilsenite. In: mindat.org. Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed May 7, 2019 .