| Clausthalite | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Category | Selinide mineral |
| Chemical formula | PbSe |
| Strunz classification | 02.CD.10 |
| Dana classification | 02.08.01.02 |
| Identification | |
| Color | Bluish gray to lead-gray |
| Crystal habit | Massive to granular with euhedral crystals |
| Crystal system | Isometric - hexoctahedralh (4/m 3 2/m) |
| Cleavage | {001} Perfect, {010} Perfect, {100} Perfect |
| Mohs scale hardness | 2.5 |
| Luster | Metallic |
| Streak | grayish black |
| Diaphaneity | opaque |
| Specific gravity | 7.6 - 8.8 |
| References | [1][2][3] |
Clausthalite is a lead selenide mineral, PbSe. It forms a solid solution series with galena PbS.
It occurs in low-sulfur hydrothermal deposits with other selenides and in mercury deposits. It is associated with tiemannite, klockmannite, berzelianite, umangite, gold, stibiopalladinite and uraninite.[1]
It was first described in 1832 and named for the discovery locality of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Harz Mountains, Germany.[3]