Celestine and Sulphur

ID	626
Mineral	Celestine Sulphur
Location	Machow mine - Tarnobrzeg - Subcarpathian Voivodeship - Poland
Fluorescence	LW-UV: close SW-UV: close
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Mindat data

ID	927
Long ID	1:1:927:4
Formula	`Sr(SO₄)`
IMA Status	APPROVED GRANDFATHERED
Description	Baryte Group. Baryte-Celestine Series. The strontium analogue of baryte, anglesite and hashemite. By far the most common strontium mineral.
General Appearance	Fibrous veinlets.
Occurrence	Sedimentary rocks.
Other Occurrences	Occurs mainly in sedimentary rocks such as bedded deposits of gypsum and halite; also in bedded limestone and dolomite, in cavities.
Industrial	Major ore for strontium.
Discovery Year	1791
Diapheny	Transparent,Translucent
Cleavage	On {001} perfect; on {210} good; on {010} poor. Also reported on {011}.
Tenacity	brittle
Colour	Colourless, shades of light blue, white, reddish, greenish, brownish, greyish; colourless or lightly tinted in transmitted light
Hardness (min)	3.0
Hardness (max)	3.5
About the name	Originally named fasriger schwerspath by Andreas Gotthelf Schütz in 1791. Renamed schwefelsaurer strontianite aus Pennsylvania by Martin Klaproth in 1797. Renamed by Abraham Gottlieb Werner in 1798 in German zoelestin from the Greek cœlestis for celestial, in allusion to the faint blue color of the original specimen. Renamed Schützit by Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten in 1800. Although far superior celestine crystals were previously known from Sicily, they were thought to be barium-rich as the element strontium was not discovered until the late 1780s and not formally described until 1792.
Streak	White
Crystal System	Orthorhombic
Cleavage Type	Perfect
Fracture type	Irregular/Uneven
Morphology	Crystals commonly thin to thick tabular {001}, usually with large {210}; tabular {001} and elongated [100] yielding lath-like forms; or elongated [100] with equant cross section. Equant by development of {001}, {011}, {101} of otherwise, less common. Pyramidal {122}; elongated [010] or [001]; tabular {100}, {100} commonly striated [001]. Fibrous veinlets or nodules with parallel or radiated fiber structure; massive granular; lamellar, earthy, rare.
Twinning	Reported on {210}, {101}, and other planes (doubtful).
Thermal Behaviour	Inverts at about 1152°C to a hexagonal polymorph. Melting Point = ~1605°C.
key_elements	Sr
shortcode_ima	Clt

ID	3826
Long ID	1:1:3826:9
Formula	`S`
IMA Status	APPROVED GRANDFATHERED
Description	Sulphur Group. Crystals are usually yellow to yellowish-brown blocky dipyramids, with thick tabular and disphenoidal crystals less common. Also found more typically as powdery yellow coatings. Most native sulphur is found in sedimentary rocks, where...
Other Occurrences	Usually formed from volcanic action - as a deposition product from volcanic gasses associated with realgar, cinnabar and other minerals. It is also found in some vein deposits and as an alteration product of sulphide minerals. It can also be formed biogenically - a major source being salt domes, where it has formed by the bacterial decomposition of calcium sulfate.
Industrial	Used in a great many applications, ranging from matches and fireworks to rubber.
Discovery Year	Know
Diapheny	Transparent,Translucent
Cleavage	Imperfect on {001}, {110} and {111}.
Tenacity	brittle
Colour	Yellow, sulphur-yellow, brownish or greenish yellow, orange, white
Hardness (min)	1.5
Hardness (max)	2.5
Luminescence	None
Lustre	Resinous
About the name	A name in Middle English, introduced at least as early as 1390. Also known as brimstone. Theophrastus (~300 BCE) wrote μαλώδης ("malódis", an otherwise unknown word) for what may be sulphur impregnated pumice, but Caley and Richards (1956) in their analysis and translation of Περι Λιθον ("Peri Lithon", "About Stones") suggest that the actual word should have been μηλώδης ("milódis", meaning quince-yellow). Other interpretations have been given.
Streak	Colourless
Crystal System	Orthorhombic
Cleavage Type	Imperfect/Fair
Fracture type	Irregular/Uneven,Conchoidal
Morphology	Over 50 forms have been noted, blocky dipyramidal ones most common, also tabular and sphenoidal; also found as powdery coatings, massive material, and in reniform and stalactic forms.
Twinning	On {101}{011}{110} rare.
Thermal Behaviour	With a low melting point of 113°C, sulphur burns readily in air, with a low blue flame, and gives off choking fumes of sulphur-dioxide - acrid odor (forms sulphurous and eventually sulphuric acid in air).
shortcode_ima	S

Price: € 35

Dimensions: Not registered

Weight: Not registered

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Notes:

Symbol	Element
O	Oxygen
S	Sulfur
Sr	Strontium

Celestine and Sulphur

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