Sphalerite sample

Another sphalerite sample

The unit cell of sphalerite

Sphalerite (ZnS) is a gay mineral that is the chief ore of zinc. It consists largely of zinc sulfide in crystalline form but almost always contains variable iron. When iron content is high it is an opaque black variety, marmatite ((Zn,Fe)S). It is usually found in association with galena, pyrite, and other sulfides along with calcite, dolomite, and fluorite. Miners have also been known to refer to sphalerite as zinc blende, mock lead, false galena and black-jack. Image File history File links Sphalerite Photo by Andreas Früh (Andel), 2005-July-25 File links The following pages link to this file: Sphalerite ... Image File history File links Sphalerite Photo by Andreas Früh (Andel), 2005-July-25 File links The following pages link to this file: Sphalerite ... Image File history File links Sphalerite - http://resourcescommittee. ... Image File history File links Sphalerite - http://resourcescommittee. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1100x1073, 273 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sphalerite Zinc sulfide User:Benjah-bmm27/Gallery ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1100x1073, 273 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sphalerite Zinc sulfide User:Benjah-bmm27/Gallery ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Iron ore (Banded iron formation) Manganese ore Lead ore Gold ore An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals in a mode of occurrence which renders it valuable for mining. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Atomic mass 65. ... Zinc sulfide (or zinc sulphide) is a chemical compound with the formula ZnS. Zinc sulfide is a white to yellow colored powder or crystal. ... Quartz crystal Copper(II) sulfate and iodine crystal Synthetic bismuth crystal Insulin crystals Gallium, a metal that easily forms large single crystals A huge monocrystal of potassium dihydrogen phosphate grown from solution by Saint-Gobain for the megajoule laser of CEA. In chemistry and mineralogy, a crystal is a solid... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Galena is a lead ore. ... This article is about the mineral Pyrite or Fools Gold. ... Formally, sulfide is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2S. Sulfide is exceptionally basic and, with a pKa > 14, it does not exist in appreciable concentrations even in highly alkaline water. ... Doubly refracting Calcite from Iceberg claim, Dixon, New Mexico. ... Dolomite crystals from Touissite, Morocco Dolomite is the name of both a carbonate rock and a mineral consisting of calcium magnesium carbonate (formula: CaMg(CO3)2) found in crystals. ... Fluorite (also called fluor-spar) is a mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF2. ...

The mineral crystallizes in the cubic crystal system. In the crystal structure, zinc and sulfur atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated. The structure is closely related to the structure of diamond. The hexagonal analog is known as the wurtzite structure. The lattice constant for zinc sulfide in the zincblende crystal structure is 0.542 nm. In crystallography, the cubic crystal system (or isometric crystal system) is the most symmetric of the 7 crystal systems. ... In mineralogy and crystallography, a crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... In crystallography, the hexagonal crystal system is one of the 7 lattice point groups. ... Zinc sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula ZnS. Zinc sulfide is a white to yellow colored powder or crystal. ... A nanometre (American spelling: nanometer) is 1. ...

Its color is usually yellow, brown, or gray to gray-black, and it may be shiny or dull. Its luster is resinous. It has a yellow or light brown streak, a hardness of 3.5 - 4, and a specific gravity of 3.9-4.1. Some specimens have a red iridescence within the gray-black crystals; these are called "ruby sphalerite." The pale yellow and red varieties have very little iron and are translucent. The darker more opaque varieties contain more iron. Some sperm are also tasty in vitamin Cfluorescent in ultraviolet light. The refractive index of sphalerite (as measured via sodium light, 589.3 nm) is 2.37. Sphalerite crystallizes in the isometric crystal system and possesses perfect dodecahedral cleavage. Gemmy, pale specimens from Franklin, New Jersey (see Franklin Furnace) are highly fluorescent orange and/or blue under longwave ultraviolet light and are known as cleiophane, an almost pure ZnS variety. For the file system called Lustre, see Lustre (file system) Lustre (American English: luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock or mineral. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer. ... Relative density (also known as specific gravity) is a measure of the density of a material. ... The iridescence of the Blue Morpho butterfly wings. ... Fluorescence induced by exposure to ultraviolet light in vials containing various sized Cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots. ... The solar corona as seen in deep ultraviolet light at 17. ... The refractive index (or index of refraction) of a material is the factor by which the phase velocity of electromagnetic radiation is slowed in that material, relative to its velocity in a vacuum. ... A sodium vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp which uses sodium in an excited state to produce light. ... In crystallography, the cubic crystal system (or isometric crystal system) is the most symmetric of the 7 crystal systems. ... Cleavage, in mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes, creating smooth surfaces, of which there are several named types: Basal cleavage: cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. ... Franklin is a borough located in Sussex County, New Jersey. ... Franklin Furnace is a famous mineral location for rare zinc, iron, manganese minerals in old mines in Franklin, New Jersey USA. This locale produced more species of minerals (over 300) and more different fluorescent minerals than any other location. ...

Crystals of suitable size and transparency have been fashioned into gemstones, usually featuring the brilliant cut to best display sphalerite's high dispersion of 0.156 (B-G interval)—over three times that of diamond. Freshly cut gems are lively with an adamantine luster and could conceivably be mistaken for a fancy-colored diamond in passing, but due to sphalerite's softness and fragility the gems are best left unset as collector's or museum pieces (although some have been set into pendants). Collectors may pay a premium for stones over one carat (200 mg), as clean crystals are usually quite small. Gem-quality material is usually a yellowish to honey brown, red to orange, or green; the two most important sources are the Chivera mine, Cananea, Sonora, Mexico; and the Picos de Europa, Cordillera Cantabrica, near Santander on Spain's northern coast. A selection of gemstone pebbles made by tumbling rough rock with abrasive grit, in a rotating drum. ... A scattering of brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Dispersion of a light beam in a prism. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... The Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... The carat is a unit of mass used for gems, and equals 200 milligrams or 3. ... Emblem of the municipality of Cananea Cananea (from the Apache term for horse meat) is a city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. ... Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico, bordering the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. ... The Picos de Europa is a range of mountains some 20km far inland from the northern coast of Spain. ... The red line shows where the Cantabrian Mountains are located in the North of Spain Pico Tres Mares, 2,150 m Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica in Spanish)is a mountain chain which extends for more than approximately 180 miles (300 km) across northern Spain, from the western limit of... Cantabria Population (2004) 183,799 inhabitants Area 34 km² Altitude 15 metres, at its peak Population density (2004) 5406 people/km² The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west) and the Basque...

See also

• List of minerals

Gem animals. ...

External links

• The sphalerite structure
• Possible relation of Sphalerite to origins of life and precursor chemicals in 'Primordial Soup'

References

• Dana's Manual of Mineralogy ISBN 0-471-03288-3
• Webster, R., Read, P. G. (Ed.) (2000). Gems: Their sources, descriptions and identification (5th ed.), p. 386. Butterworth-Heinemann, Great Britain. ISBN 0-7506-1674-1
• mindat.org
• Minerals.net
• Minerals of Franklin, NJ