"Cassiterite Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO. It is generally opaque, but can also be translucent to transparent. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite has been the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains the most important source of tin today. Most sources of cassiterite today are found in alluvial or placer deposits containing the resistant weathered grains. The best sources of primary cassiterite are found in the tin mines of Bolivia, where it is found in hydrothermal veins. Rwanda has a nascent cassiterite mining industry. Fighting over cassiterite deposits (particularly in Walikale)"
"ores are less abundant sulfides such as stannite that require a more involved smelting process. Cassiterite often accumulates in alluvial channels as placer deposits due to the fact that it is harder, heavier, and more chemically resistant than the granite in which it typically forms . These deposits can be easily seen in river banks, because cassiterite is usually black or purple or otherwise dark, a feature exploited by early Bronze Age prospectors. It is likely that the earliest deposits were alluvial and perhaps exploited by the same methods used for panning gold in placer deposits. The importance of tin"
"near Bernic Lake in Manitoba, Canada, where they are mined for their caesium content for use in caesium formate oil drilling assistance. This ore is about 20% by weight caesium. Pollucite Pollucite is a zeolite mineral with the formula (Cs,Na)AlSiO·2HO with iron, calcium, rubidium and potassium as common substituting elements. It is important as a significant ore of caesium and sometimes rubidium. It forms a solid solution series with analcime. It crystallizes in the isometric - hexoctahedral crystal system as colorless, white, gray, or rarely pink and blue masses. Well formed crystals are rare. It has a Mohs hardness of"
"of tin in ancient times. Other forms of tin ores are less abundant sulfides such as stannite that require a more involved smelting process. Cassiterite often accumulates in alluvial channels as placer deposits because it is harder, heavier, and more chemically resistant than the accompanying granite. Cassiterite is usually black or generally dark in color, and these deposits can be easily seen in river banks. Alluvial (placer) deposits could be easily collected and separated by methods similar to gold panning. In the great majority of its compounds, tin has the oxidation state II or IV. Halide compounds are known for"
"resulting from exceptionally bulky ligands such as the tricoordinate [Pr{N(SiMe)}]. There are also a few mixed oxides and fluorides involving praseodymium(IV), but it does not have an appreciable coordination chemistry in this oxidation state like its neighbour cerium. In 1751, the Swedish mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt discovered a heavy mineral from the mine at Bastnäs, later named cerite. Thirty years later, the fifteen-year-old Vilhelm Hisinger, from the family owning the mine, sent a sample of it to Carl Scheele, who did not find any new elements within. In 1803, after Hisinger had become an ironmaster, he returned to the mineral"
"Aenigmatite Aenigmatite, also known as ""Cossyrite"" after Cossyra, the ancient name of Pantelleria, is a sodium, iron, titanium inosilicate mineral. The chemical formula is NaFeTiSiO and its structure consists of single tetrahedral chains with a repeat unit of four and complex side branches. It forms brown to black triclinic lamellar crystals. It has Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6 and specific gravity of 3.74 to 3.85. Aenigmatite forms a solid-solution series with wilkinsonite, NaFeFeSiO. Aenigmatite is primarily found in peralkaline volcanic rocks, pegmatites, and granites as well as silica-poor intrusive rocks. It was first described by August Breithaupt in 1865"
"Wolframite Wolframite, (Fe,Mn)WO, is an iron manganese tungstate mineral that is the intermediate between ferberite (Fe rich) and hübnerite (Mn rich). Along with scheelite, the wolframite series are the most important tungsten ore minerals. Wolframite is found in quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusives. Associated minerals include cassiterite, scheelite, bismuth, quartz, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite. This mineral was historically found in Europe in Bohemia, Saxony, and Cornwall. China reportedly has the world's largest supply of tungsten ore with about 60%. Other producers are Canada, Portugal, Russia, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, Rwanda, Bolivia, the United States, and the"
"collector. Maucherite Maucherite is a grey to reddish silver white nickel arsenide mineral. It crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system. It occurs in hydrothermal veins alongside other nickel arsenide and sulfide minerals. It is metallic and opaque with a hardness of 5 and a specific gravity of 7.83. It is also known as placodine and Temiskamite. The unit cell is of symmetry group ""P4""22 or ""P4""22. It has the chemical formula: NiAs and commonly contains copper, iron, cobalt, antimony, and sulfur as impurities. It was discovered in 1913 in Eisleben, Germany and was named after Wilhelm Maucher (1879–1930), a German"
"Limonite Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·HO, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxide can vary quite widely. Limonite is one of the three principal iron ores, the others being hematite and magnetite, and has been mined for the production of iron since at least 2500 BCE. Limonite is named for the Greek word (/leː.mɔ̌ːn/), meaning ""wet meadow"", or (/lím.nɛː/), meaning “marshy lake” as an allusion to its occurrence as bog iron ore in meadows"
"telluride ores of gold, although such ores are minor sources of gold in general. As a major gold mineral found in Western Australia, calaverite played a major role in the 1890s gold rushes in that area. Calaverite occurs as monoclinic crystals, which do not possess cleavage planes. It has a specific gravity of 9.35 and a hardness of 2.5. Calaverite can be dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid. In hot sulfuric acid the mineral dissolves, leaving a spongy mass of gold in a red solution of tellurium. Calaverite’s structure has been both an object of fascination and frustration in the scientific"
"Maucherite Maucherite is a grey to reddish silver white nickel arsenide mineral. It crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system. It occurs in hydrothermal veins alongside other nickel arsenide and sulfide minerals. It is metallic and opaque with a hardness of 5 and a specific gravity of 7.83. It is also known as placodine and Temiskamite. The unit cell is of symmetry group ""P4""22 or ""P4""22. It has the chemical formula: NiAs and commonly contains copper, iron, cobalt, antimony, and sulfur as impurities. It was discovered in 1913 in Eisleben, Germany and was named after Wilhelm Maucher (1879–1930), a German mineral"
"Baryte Baryte or barite (, ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (BaSO). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium. The ""baryte group"" consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), anglesite (lead sulfate), and anhydrite (calcium sulfate). Baryte and celestine form a solid solution (Ba,Sr)SO. The radiating form, sometimes referred to as ""Bologna Stone"", attained some notoriety among alchemists for the phosphorescent specimens found in the 17th century near Bologna by Vincenzo Casciarolo. The American Petroleum Institute specification API 13/ISO 13500, which governs ""baryte"" for drilling purposes, does not refer to any specific mineral,"
"York has its own name (listed in order of discovery date): It is an iron meteorite (medium octahedrite) and belongs to the chemical group IIIAB. There are abundant elongated troilite nodules. The troilite nodules contain inclusions of chromite, sulfides, phosphates, silica and copper. The rare nitride mineral carlsbergite (CrN) occurs within the matrix of the metal phase. Graphite was not observed and the nitrogen isotopes are in disequilibrium. Cape York meteorite The Cape York meteorite is named for Cape York, near the location of its discovery in Savissivik, Meteorite Island, Greenland, and is one of the largest iron meteorites in"
"orebody. The minerals making most of the orebody are realgar, orpiment, As-bearing pyrite and marcasite. The deposit was mined extensively between 1880 and 1908. Antimony, arsenic and thallium were produced during that period. Pyrite, stibnite, orpiment and realgar are the main minerals forming the ore. Lorandite – a thallium arsenic sulfosalt mineral with formula TlAsS – is the main thallium mineral in the deposit. Several other thallium minerals have been discovered in the mine over the years, for example, jankovićite (TlSb(As,Sb)S, fangite (TlAsS) and bernardite (TI(Sb,As)S). LORandite EXperiment (LOREX) is using lorandite from the ore deposit to determine the solar"
"once provided a major source of iron and aluminium ore. Percolating waters caused degradation of the parent basalt and preferential precipitation by acidic water through the lattice left the iron and aluminium ores. Primary olivine, plagioclase feldspar and augite were successively broken down and replaced by a mineral assemblage consisting of hematite, gibbsite, goethite, anatase, halloysite and kaolinite. Laterite ores were the major source of early nickel. Rich laterite deposits in New Caledonia were mined starting the end of the 19th century to produce white metal. The discovery of sulfide deposits of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, during the early part of"
"Mixite Mixite is a rare copper bismuth arsenate mineral with formula: BiCu(AsO)(OH)·3(HO). It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system typically occurring as radiating acicular prisms and massive encrustations. The color varies from white to various shades of green and blue. It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4 and a specific gravity of 3.8. It has an uneven fracture and a brilliant to adamantine luster. It occurs as a secondary mineral in the oxidized zones of copper deposits. Associated minerals include: bismutite, smaltite, native bismuth, atelestite, erythrite, malachite and barite. It was discovered in 1879 near J´achymov, Czech Republic"
"is a major cause of the conflict waged in eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This has led to cassiterite being considered a conflict mineral. Cassiterite is a widespread minor constituent of igneous rocks. The Bolivian veins and the old exhausted workings of Cornwall, England, are concentrated in high temperature quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusives. The veins commonly contain tourmaline, topaz, fluorite, apatite, wolframite, molybdenite, and arsenopyrite. The mineral occurs extensively in Cornwall as surface deposits on Bodmin Moor, for example, where there are extensive traces of an hydraulic mining method known as ""streaming""."
"weighed more than 24,000 carats, and was discovered in Wyoming, US. Another name for blue iolite is steinheilite, after Fabian Steinheil, the Russian military governor of Finland who observed that it was a different mineral from quartz. Praseolite is another iolite variety which results from heat treatment. It should not be confused with prasiolite. Cordierite """"Praseolite"" redirects here. For the green variety of quartz see prasiolite."" Cordierite (mineralogy) or iolite (gemology) is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite with a series formula: (,)() to (,)()."
"or chromite ores. Sulfides associated with peridotites form nickel ores and platinoid metals; most of the platinum used in the world today is mined from the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa and the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe. The chromite bands found in peridotites are the world's major source of chromium. Peridotite Peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica (). It is high in magnesium (Mg), reflecting the high proportions of magnesium-rich olivine, with appreciable iron. Peridotite is derived from the"
"mines of Potosí, Bolivia. Bismuthinite Bismuthinite is a mineral consisting of bismuth sulfide (BiS). It is an important ore for bismuth. The crystals are steel-grey to off-white with a metallic luster. It is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail and rather dense. Bismuthinite forms a series with the lead, copper, bismuth mineral aikinite (PbCuBiS). It occurs in hydrothermal veins with tourmaline-bearing copper veins associated with granite, in some high temperature gold veins, and in recent volcanic exhalation deposits. Associated minerals include native bismuth, aikinite, arsenopyrite, stannite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tourmaline, wolframite, cassiterite and quartz. It was first reported"
"Mesosiderite Mesosiderites are a class of stony–iron meteorites consisting of about equal parts of metallic nickel-iron and silicate. They are breccias with an irregular texture; silicates and metal occur often in lumps or pebbles as well as in fine-grained intergrowths. The silicate part contains olivine, pyroxenes, and Ca-rich feldspar and is similar in composition to eucrites and diogenites. They are a rare type of meteorite; as of November 2014 only 208 are known (of which 56 come from Antarctica) and only 7 of these are observed falls. On the other hand, some mesosiderites are among the largest meteorites known. At"
"Hematite Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron(III) oxide (FeO), one of several iron oxides. It is the oldest known iron oxide mineral that has ever formed on earth, and is widespread in rocks and soils. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral lattice system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum. Hematite and ilmenite form a complete solid solution at temperatures above . Hematite is colored black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish brown, or red. It is mined as the main ore of iron. Varieties include ""kidney ore"", ""martite"" (pseudomorphs after"
"the major metallic component that combines with sulfur and arsenic in the sulfidic cobaltite (CoAsS), safflorite (CoAs), glaucodot ((Co,Fe)AsS), and skutterudite (CoAs) minerals. The mineral cattierite is similar to pyrite and occurs together with vaesite in the copper deposits of Katanga Province. When it reaches the atmosphere, weathering occurs; the sulfide minerals oxidize and form pink erythrite (""cobalt glance"": Co(AsO)·8HO) and spherocobaltite (CoCO). Cobalt is also a constituent of tobacco smoke. The tobacco plant readily absorbs and accumulates heavy metals like cobalt from the surrounding soil in its leaves. These are subsequently inhaled during tobacco smoking. The main ores of"
"minerals such as pyroxene and perovskite. Melilite is a constituent of some calcium- and aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs) in chondritic meteorites. Isotope ratios of magnesium and some other elements in these inclusions are of great importance in deducing processes that formed our solar system. Melilite Melilite refers to a mineral of the melilite group. Minerals of the group are solid solutions of several endmembers, the most important of which are gehlenite and åkermanite. A generalized formula for common melilite is (Ca,Na)(Al,Mg,Fe)[(Al,Si)SiO]. Discovered in 1793 near Rome, it has a yellowish, greenish-brown color. The name derives from the Greek words meli (μέλι)"
"at Patwar (India) in 1935. The legendary Chinguetti meteorite is also supposed to be a mesosiderite. The asteroid 16 Psyche is a candidate for the parent body of the mesosiderites. Mesosiderite Mesosiderites are a class of stony–iron meteorites consisting of about equal parts of metallic nickel-iron and silicate. They are breccias with an irregular texture; silicates and metal occur often in lumps or pebbles as well as in fine-grained intergrowths. The silicate part contains olivine, pyroxenes, and Ca-rich feldspar and is similar in composition to eucrites and diogenites. They are a rare type of meteorite; as of November 2014 only"
"Pollucite Pollucite is a zeolite mineral with the formula (Cs,Na)AlSiO·2HO with iron, calcium, rubidium and potassium as common substituting elements. It is important as a significant ore of caesium and sometimes rubidium. It forms a solid solution series with analcime. It crystallizes in the isometric - hexoctahedral crystal system as colorless, white, gray, or rarely pink and blue masses. Well formed crystals are rare. It has a Mohs hardness of 6.5 and a specific gravity of 2.9. It has a brittle fracture and no cleavage. It was first described by August Breithaupt in 1846 for occurrences on the island of"
"Babingtonite Babingtonite is a calcium iron manganese inosilicate mineral with the formula Ca(Fe,Mn)FeSiO(OH). It is unusual in that iron(III) completely replaces the aluminium so typical of silicate minerals. It is a very dark green to black translucent (in thin crystals or splinters) mineral crystallizing in the triclinic system with typically radial short prismatic clusters and druzy coatings. It occurs with zeolite minerals in cavities in volcanic rocks. Babingtonite contains both iron(II) and iron(III) and shows weak magnetism. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6 and a specific gravity of 3.3. It was first described in 1824 from samples"
"Bismuthinite Bismuthinite is a mineral consisting of bismuth sulfide (BiS). It is an important ore for bismuth. The crystals are steel-grey to off-white with a metallic luster. It is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail and rather dense. Bismuthinite forms a series with the lead, copper, bismuth mineral aikinite (PbCuBiS). It occurs in hydrothermal veins with tourmaline-bearing copper veins associated with granite, in some high temperature gold veins, and in recent volcanic exhalation deposits. Associated minerals include native bismuth, aikinite, arsenopyrite, stannite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, tourmaline, wolframite, cassiterite and quartz. It was first reported in 1832 from the"
"common diagenetic iron oxyhydroxide in both marine and lake sediments. Goethite is an iron oxyhydroxide containing ferric iron. It is the main component of rust and bog iron ore. Goethite's hardness ranges from 5.0 to 5.5 on the Mohs Scale, and its specific gravity varies from 3.3 to 4.3. The mineral forms prismatic needle-like crystals (""needle iron ore"") but is more typically massive. Feroxyhyte and lepidocrocite are both polymorphs of the iron oxyhydroxide FeO(OH) which are stable at the pressure and temperature conditions of the Earth's surface. Although they have the same chemical formula as goethite, their different crystalline structures"
"Kamacite Kamacite is an alloy of iron and nickel, which is found on Earth only in meteorites. The proportion iron:nickel is between 90:10 and 95:5; small quantities of other elements, such as cobalt or carbon may also be present. The mineral has a metallic luster, is gray and has no clear cleavage although its crystal structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is about 8 g/cm and its hardness is 4 on the Mohs scale. It is also sometimes called balkeneisen. The name was coined in 1861 and is derived from the Greek root ""καμακ-"" ""kamak"" or ""κάμαξ"" ""kamaks"", meaning vine-pole. It"
"Goethite Goethite (FeO(OH); ) is an iron-bearing hydroxide mineral of the diaspore group. It is found in soil and other low-temperature environments. Goethite has been well known since ancient times for its use as a pigment (brown ochre). Evidence has been found of its use in paint pigment samples taken from the caves of Lascaux in France. It was first described in 1806 based on samples found in the Hollertszug Mine in Herdorf, Germany. The mineral was named after the German polymath and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). In 2003, nanoparticulate authigenic goethite was shown to be the most"
"Skutterudite Named after the city of Skotterud, Norway, Skutterudite is a cobalt arsenide mineral containing variable amounts of nickel and iron substituting for cobalt with a general formula: CoAs. Some references give the arsenic a variable formula subscript of 2-3. High nickel varieties are referred to as nickel-skutterudite, previously chloanthite. It is a hydrothermal ore mineral found in moderate to high temperature veins with other Ni-Co minerals. Associated minerals are arsenopyrite, native silver, erythrite, annabergite, nickeline, cobaltite, silver sulfosalts, native bismuth, calcite, siderite, barite and quartz. It is mined as an ore of cobalt and nickel with a by-product of"
"Ilmenite Ilmenite or Iron Titanium Dioxide (FeTiO3) is the most important and most extracted titanium mineral, of which over 90% is used in the titanium dioxide pigment industry. It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid.Its most important use is to prepare a white, inert titanium dioxide pigment by the sulphate method. From a commercial perspective, ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium. Ilmenite is the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food and cosmetics. Ilmenite crystallizes in the trigonal system. The ilmenite crystal structure consists of an ordered derivative"