Sulfosalt minerals

Sulfosalt minerals are those complex sulfide minerals with the general formula: A_mB_nS_p; where A represents a metal such as copper, lead, or silver; B represents a semi-metal such as arsenic, antimony or bismuth; and S is sulfur or rarely selenium. In the more simple sulfosalt formulas m = p = 3n is an approximation.

There are about 200 known sulfosalt minerals, a few of the more common or important (as ore minerals) sulfosalt minerals are:
*Pyrargyrite Ag₃SbS₃
*Proustite Ag₃AsS₃
*Enargite Cu₃AsS₄
*Tetrahedrite Cu₁₂Sb₄S₁₃
*Tennantite Cu₁₂As₄S₁₃
*Bournonite PbCuSbS₃
*Jamesonite Pb₄FeSb₆S₁₄

References

* Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, "Manual of Mineralogy", 20th ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York ISBN 0-471-80580-7
* N.N. Mozgova, 2000, "Sulfosalt mineralogy today" in "MODERN APPROACHES TO ORE AND ENVIRONMENTAL MINERALOGY", MSF Mini-Symposium Espoo Finland, June 11-17, 2000, http://www.igem.ru/igem/mine/sulfosalts.htm Retrieved July 22, 2005.
* Lengenbach Quarry