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The mineralogy of Thallium

General Properties
Symbol:Tl
Atomic Number:81
Standard atomic weight (Ar):204.3833(2)
Electron configuration:[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p1
Photos
<
8 grams pure thallium under argon
>
Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):2.04
Atomic Radius:156 pm
Ionic Radius:150 pm (+1)
Van der Waals Radius:196 pm
1st Ionization energy:589 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:-19 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:1,3
Physical Properties
Standard State:solid
Bonding Type:metallic
Melting Point:577 K
Boiling Point:1746 K
Density:11.85 g/cm3
Metal/Non-Metal:metal
Main isotopes of Thallium
Isotope% in NatureHalf LifeDecay typeDecay product
203Tl29.524%-α ?199Au
204Tlsynthetic3.78yβ−204Pb
ε204Hg
205Tl70.476%-α ?201Au
Main ions of Thallium
NameIonExample minerals
thallium(I)Tl+
thallium(III)Tl3+
Other Information
Year Discovered:1861
Discovered By:
09465330017362062931655.jpg
William Crookes
Year Isolated:1862
Isolated By:
07073750017362758764731.jpg
Claude-Auguste Lamy
Named For:From Greek: thallos - "a green shoot (twig)"
CPK color coding:#A6544D
External Links:WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com
Simple Compounds and Mineral Names
Sulfidesdithallium sulphideTl2S+1Carlinite
Selenidesdithallium selenideTl2Se+1
Fluoridesthallium fluorideTlF+1
thallium trifluorideTlF3+3
Chloridesthallium chlorideTlCl+1Lafossaite
thallium dichlorideTlCl2+2
thallium trichlorideTlCl3+3
Bromidesdithallium tetrabromideTl2Br4
Iodidesthallium iodideTlI+1Nataliyamalikite
thallium triiodideTlI3+3
Oxidesdithallium oxideTl2O+1
dithallium trioxideTl2O3+3Avicennite
Mineral Diversity of Thallium
1. Elements 1 valid mineral species
2. Sulfides And Sulfosalts 74 valid mineral species
3. Halides6 valid mineral species
4. Oxides 2 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates 6 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates1 valid mineral species
Total:90 valid species containing essential Thallium
Minerals with the greatest weight % of Thallium
CarliniteTl2S92.73 %
AvicenniteTl2O389.49 %
LafossaiteTl(Cl,Br)85.22 %
EllisiteTl3AsS378.18 %
FangiteTl3AsS475.11 %
BiagioniiteTl2SbS268.74 %
AmgaiteTl+32Te6+O664.64 %
RaguiniteTlFeS263.01 %
NataliyamalikiteTlI61.69 %
KarpoviteTl2VO(SO4)2(H2O)59.60 %
Geochemistry of Thallium
Goldschmidt classification:Chalcophile
Tl+ is concentrated in residual soils and sediments (less certainty.)
Tl+ enters later phases in igneous rocks due to its large size.
Elemental Abundance for Thallium
Crust (CRC Handbook)8.5 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)4.7 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)7 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)3.60 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)7.50 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Shaw)5.20 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)1.9 x 10-11mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)2.0 x 10-7atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)1.9 x 10-7atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)1.84 x 10-7 (9.4%)atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)
Element association of Thallium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Thallium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements.

The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Thallium and the element listed for that row.

The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Thallium.

The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row.

Click on a heading to sort.
ElementValid Minerals listed with element and Thallium% of Tl mineralsRelative to % in all minerals
Sulfur76 minerals with Tl and S82.61%274.61% higher
Arsenic56 minerals with Tl and As60.87%370.98% higher
Antimony38 minerals with Tl and Sb41.30%628.42% higher
Lead29 minerals with Tl and Pb31.52%192.97% higher
Silver21 minerals with Tl and Ag22.83%486.28% higher
Copper19 minerals with Tl and Cu20.65%52.19% higher
Iron12 minerals with Tl and Fe13.04%41.87% lower
Oxygen11 minerals with Tl and O11.96%85.22% lower
Mercury9 minerals with Tl and Hg9.78%445.53% higher
Hydrogen7 minerals with Tl and H7.61%86.34% lower
Chlorine6 minerals with Tl and Cl6.52%11.86% lower
Manganese4 minerals with Tl and Mn4.35%62.62% lower
Zinc3 minerals with Tl and Zn3.26%42.49% lower
Potassium3 minerals with Tl and K3.26%67.23% lower
Selenium3 minerals with Tl and Se3.26%21.60% higher
Gold3 minerals with Tl and Au3.26%369.41% higher
Vanadium2 minerals with Tl and V2.17%54.69% lower
Tellurium2 minerals with Tl and Te2.17%37.99% lower
Bismuth2 minerals with Tl and Bi2.17%47.84% lower
Aluminium1 mineral with Tl and Al1.09%94.56% lower
Nickel1 mineral with Tl and Ni1.09%68.11% lower
Bromine1 mineral with Tl and Br1.09%295.78% higher
Palladium1 mineral with Tl and Pd1.09%22.66% lower
Tin1 mineral with Tl and Sn1.09%40.46% lower
Iodine1 mineral with Tl and I1.09%110.26% higher
Periodic Table
1H 2He
3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10Ne
11Na 12Mg 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
19K 20Ca 21Sc 22Ti 23V 24Cr 25Mn 26Fe 27Co 28Ni 29Cu 30Zn 31Ga 32Ge 33As 34Se 35Br 36Kr
37Rb 38Sr 39Y 40Zr 41Nb 42Mo 43Tc 44Ru 45Rh 46Pd 47Ag 48Cd 49In 50Sn 51Sb 52Te 53I 54Xe
55Cs 56Ba 57La 72Hf 73Ta 74W 75Re 76Os 77Ir 78Pt 79Au 80Hg 81Tl 82Pb 83Bi 84Po 85At 86Rn
87Fr 88Ra 89Ac 104Rd 105Db 106Sg 107Bh 108Hs 109Mt 110Ds 111Rg 112Cn 113Nh 114Fl 115Mc 116Lv 117Ts 118Og
 
58Ce 59Pr 60Nd 61Pm 62Sm 63Eu 64Gd 65Tb 66Dy 67Ho 68Er 69Tm 70Yb 71Lu
90Th 91Pa 92U 93Np 94Pu 95Am 96Cm 97Bk 98Cf 99Es 100Fm 101Md 102No 103Lr
Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Tl Relative Frequency
Mercury << Thallium >> Lead


Most widespread minerals containing Thallium
This list of minerals containing Thallium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Thallium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.
NameFormulaCrystal SystemMindat Localities
Twinnite Pb0.8Tl0.1Sb1.3As0.8S4Monoclinic29
LoránditeTlAsS2Monoclinic20
CrookesiteCu7(Tl, Ag)Se4Tetragonal20
ThalcusiteTl2Cu3FeS4Tetragonal18
Bukovite(Cu3Fe)Σ4Tl2Se4Tetragonal17
ParapierrotiteTlSb5S8Monoclinic14
HutchinsoniteTlPbAs5S9Orthorhombic11
RouthieriteTl(Cu,Ag)(Hg,Zn)2(As,Sb)2S6Tetragonal10
AvicenniteTl2O3Isometric10
ChristiteTlHgAsS3Orthorhombic9
Photos
01014270017271927242362.jpg
Twinnite

Jas Roux, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
05919780017271924681097.jpg
Lorándite, etc.

Crven Dol, Allchar, Ržanovo, Kavadarci Municipality, North Macedonia
09009400017271922295939.jpg
Crookesite

Skrikerum Mine, Valdemarsvik, Östergötland County, Sweden
00291820017271926997337.jpg
Thalcusite, etc.

Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland
01014270017271927242362.jpg
Twinnite

Jas Roux, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
05919780017271924681097.jpg
Lorándite, etc.

Crven Dol, Allchar, Ržanovo, Kavadarci Municipality, North Macedonia
09009400017271922295939.jpg
Crookesite

Skrikerum Mine, Valdemarsvik, Östergötland County, Sweden
05285750017362758791156.jpg
Thalcusite, etc.

Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland
01014270017271927242362.jpg
Twinnite

Jas Roux, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
05919780017271924681097.jpg
Lorándite, etc.

Crven Dol, Allchar, Ržanovo, Kavadarci Municipality, North Macedonia
09009400017271922295939.jpg
Crookesite

Skrikerum Mine, Valdemarsvik, Östergötland County, Sweden
06051440017271927098643.jpg
Thalcusite, etc.

Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland

Localities with greatest number of different Thallium mineral species
1Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland37 Tl minerals
2Vorontsovskoe deposit (Vorontsovsk gold deposit; Vorontsovka deposit), Tur'insk, Turya river, Serovsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia33 Tl minerals
3Allchar, Ržanovo, Kavadarci Municipality, North Macedonia18 Tl minerals
4Jas Roux, La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France13 Tl minerals
5Crven Dol, Allchar, Ržanovo, Kavadarci Municipality, North Macedonia11 Tl minerals
6Hemlo gold deposit, Bomby Township, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada8 Tl minerals
Adit No. 25, Crven Dol, Allchar, Ržanovo, Kavadarci Municipality, North Macedonia8 Tl minerals
8Monte Arsiccio Mine, Sant'Anna di Stazzema, Stazzema, Lucca Province, Tuscany, Italy7 Tl minerals
 
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2025, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
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