Hawleyite

Hawleyit, chemically β - cadmium sulfide is a rare mineral from the mineral class of sulfides and sulfosalts. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system with the chemical composition of CdS and forms pale yellow, fine-grained, powdery coatings on minerals such as sphalerite or siderite.

Etymology and history

The mineral was first in 1954 by R. J. Traill and J. W. Boyle in the Hector - Calumet mine found in the area of ​​Mayo in the Yukon, Canada. They named it after the Canadian mineralogy professor James Edwin Hawley.

Classification

In the classification by Strunz Hawleyit is counted among the metal sulfides with a ratio of metal to sulfur, selenium or tellurium of 1:1. After the 8th edition forms the Sphaleritgruppe together with Coloradoite, Stilleit, Rudashevskyit, Polhemusit, sphalerite, and Metacinnabarit Tiemannit. The 9th edition, it is with these minerals and Sakuraiit a subset of sulfides of zinc, iron, copper or silver.

In the classification by Dana it forms with Coloradoite, Stilleit, Rudashevskyit, sphalerite, and Metacinnabarit Tiemannit the sphalerite - subgroup of sulfides, selenides and tellurides with the composition AmBn Xp, with (m n): p = 1:1.

Modifications and varieties

Hawleyit is dimorphic to Greenockit, this is the hexagonal α -modification of cadmium sulfide in nature. This is similar to the zinc analogues sphalerite ( cubic) and wurtzite ( hexagonal).

Education and Locations

Hawleyit forms secondarily by precipitation meteoric water in cracks and fractures of the ore. It is associated with sphalerite, siderite and Greenockit.

In addition to the type locality was found Hawleyit among others in Broken Hill and Kambalda in Australia, the Montafon in Austria, Theux and Andenne in Belgium, the Tanco mine in Canada, Cerro Blanco and Caracoles, Chile, Komňa in the Czech Republic, Pinols in France, the schauinsland in Germany, Laurion in Greece, Nagylápafõ in Hungary, Kolar in India, Killimor in Ireland, Gadoni in Italy, Konan in Japan, Te Aroha in New Zealand, Drammen in Norway, La Unión in Spain, Martigny, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ashover found in England and several localities in the United States.

Crystal structure

Hawleyit crystallizes in the cubic crystal system in the space group with the lattice parameters a = 5.838 Å and four formula units per unit cell. The structure thus corresponds to the sphalerite structure.