Sulfosalt minerals

Structure of proustite (Ag3AsS3), a classic sulfosalt, which can be viewed as the Ag+ derivative of [AsS3]3-. Sulfosalts characteristically feature M-S-M' linkages, where M and M's are different metals or metalloids.

Sulfosalt minerals are those complex sulfide minerals with the general formula: AmBnSp; where A represents a metal such as copper, lead, silver, iron and rarely mercury, zinc, vanadium; B usually represents semi-metal such as arsenic, antimony, bismuth and rarely germanium, or metals like tin and rarely vanadium; and S is sulfur or rarely selenium or/and tellurium.[1] The Strunz classification includes the sulfosalts in a sulfides and sulfosalts superclass.[1] A group which have a similar appearing formulas are the sulfarsenides (for example cobaltite (Co,Fe)AsS). In sulfarsenides the arsenic substitutes for sulfur whereas in the sulfosalts the arsenic substitutes for a metal cation.[2]

There are about 200 known sulfosalt minerals. Examples include:[3]

Nickel–Strunz Classification -02- Sulfosalts

IMA-CNMNC proposes a new hierarchical scheme (Mills et al., 2009). This list uses the Classification of Nickel–Strunz (mindat.org, 10 ed, pending publication).

Class: sulfosalts

Synthetic sulfosalts

Many sulfosalts can be prepared in the laboratory, including many that do not occur in nature.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Strunz classification of sulfides and sulfosalts". Mindat.
  2. Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York ISBN 0-471-80580-7
  3. Palache, C., H. Berman, and C. Frondel (1944) Dana’s system of mineralogy, (7th edition), v. I, pp. 348-350
  4. Sheldrick, William S.; Wachhold, Michael "Chalcogenidometalates of the heavier Group 14 and 15 elements" Coordination Chemistry Reviews 1998, vol. 176, 211-322. doi:10.1016/S0010-8545(98)00120-9
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