- Greenockite
Greenockite is a rare
cadmium mineral that consists ofcadmium sulfide , CdS, in crystalline form. Greenockite crystallizes in the hexagonal system. It occurs as massive encrustations and as six-sided pyramidal crystals which vary in color from a honey yellow through shades of red to brown. TheMohs hardness is 3 to 3.5 and thespecific gravity is 4.5 to 5.Greenockite occurs with other sulfide minerals such as
sphalerite andgalena . It is the only "ore mineral" of cadmium, most cadmium is recovered as a byproduct of zinc and lead mining.It was first recognized in 1840 in Bishopton,
Scotland , during the cutting of a tunnel for theGlasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway . The mineral was named after the land owner Lord Greenock. It is also known from the lead-zinc districts of the centralUnited States .References
* [http://www.mindat.org/min-1746.html Mindat]
* [http://webmineral.com/data/Greenockite.shtml Webmineral]
* [http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/sulfides/greenock/greenock.htm Mineral galleries]
* [http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/John/huntmin/greenock.htm Glasgow museum site]
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