Vulcanite

This article is about the mineral vulcanite. For vulcanized rubber, also known as Vulcanite, see ebonite. For artificial stone, see artificial stone.

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
Vulcanite from Good Hope Mine, Colorado, U.S.
General
Category	Telluride mineral
Formula	CuTe
IMA symbol	Vul[1]
Strunz classification	2.CB.75
Crystal system	Orthorhombic
Crystal class	Dipyramidal (mmm) H-M symbol: (2/m 2/m 2/m)
Space group	Pmnm
Identification
Color	Pale to yellow bronze
Crystal habit	Massive, granular, tabular
Twinning	Common
Cleavage	[hk0] Good, [h0l] Indistinct
Fracture	Sectile – Curved shavings or scrapings produced by a knife blade
Mohs scale hardness	1–2
Luster	Metallic
Diaphaneity	Opaque
Specific gravity	7.1
Pleochroism	Very strong, bright yellow to blue-gray
Fusibility	1.5
References	[2][3][4]

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.^[4] 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