Vulcanite

{{Short description|Copper telluride mineral}} {{about|the mineral vulcanite|vulcanized rubber, also known as Vulcanite|ebonite|artificial stone|artificial stone}} {{Infobox mineral | name = '''Vulcanite''' | category = Telluride mineral | boxwidth = | boxbgcolor = | image = Vulcanite.png | imagesize = | caption = Vulcanite from Good Hope Mine, Colorado, U.S. | formula = CuTe | IMAsymbol = Vul<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Warr|first=L.N.|date=2021|title=IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|volume=85|issue=3|pages=291–320|doi=10.1180/mgm.2021.43|bibcode=2021MinM...85..291W|s2cid=235729616|doi-access=free}}</ref> | molweight = | strunz = 2.CB.75 | color = Pale to yellow bronze | habit = Massive, granular, tabular | system = Orthorhombic | class = Dipyramidal (mmm) <br/>H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m) | symmetry = ''Pmnm'' | twinning = Common | cleavage = [hk0] Good, [h0l] Indistinct | fracture = Sectile – Curved shavings or scrapings produced by a knife blade | mohs = 1–2 | luster = Metallic | refractive = | opticalprop = | birefringence = | pleochroism = Very strong, bright yellow to blue-gray | streak = | gravity = 7.1 | density = | melt = | fusibility = 1.5 | diagnostic = | solubility = | diaphaneity = Opaque | other = | references = <ref>[http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/vulcanite.pdf "Vulcanite"] in ''Handbook of Mineralogy''. Mineralogical Society of America</ref><ref>[http://webmineral.com/data/Vulcanite.shtml Vulcanite Mineral Data]. Webmineral</ref><ref name="mindat_min-4213">[http://www.mindat.org/min-4213.html Vulcanite]. Mindat</ref> }} '''Vulcanite''' is a rare copper telluride mineral. The mineral has a metallic luster, and has a green or bronze-yellow tint. It has a hardness between 1 and 2 on the Mohs scale (between talc and gypsum). Its crystal structure is orthorhombic.

Vulcanite is named for the place where it was discovered in 1961, the Mammoth Good Hope Mine in Vulcan (ghost town and district), Gunnison County, Colorado.<ref name="mindat_min-4213"/> Small deposits have also been discovered in Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Norway. It occurs with native tellurium, rickardite, petzite, and sylvanite.

==See also== *Telluride mineral

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Telluride minerals Category:Orthorhombic minerals Category:Minerals in space group 59 Category:Minerals described in 1961