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The mineralogy of Sulfur

General Properties
Symbol:	S
Commodity pages:	Sulfur
Atomic Number:	16
Standard atomic weight (A_r):	32.065(5)
Electron configuration:	[Ne] 3s² 3p⁴

Photos

<	Native Sulphur - S₈	>

Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):	2.58
Atomic Radius:	88 pm
Ionic Radius:	184 pm (-2)
Van der Waals Radius:	180 pm
1st Ionization energy:	1000 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:	-200 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:	-2,-1,1,2,3,4,5,6

Physical Properties
Standard State:	solid
Bonding Type:	covalent network
Melting Point:	388 K
Boiling Point:	718 K
Density:	1.96 g/cm³
Metal/Non-Metal:	nonmetal

Main isotopes of Sulfur
Isotope	% in Nature	Half Life	Decay type	Decay product
³²S	95.02%	stable
³³S	0.75%	stable
³⁴S	4.21%	stable
³⁵S	synthetic	87.32d	β−	³⁵Cl
³⁶S	0.02%	stable

Main ions of Sulfur
Name	Ion	Example minerals
sulfur(IV)	S⁴⁺
sulfur(VI)	S⁶⁺
sulfide	S^2-	Galena, Sphalerite
disulfide	S₂^2-	Pyrite, Marcasite
hydrogen sulfate (bisulfate)	HSO₄^-
hydrogen sulfite (bisulfite)	HSO₃^-
sulfate	SO₄^2-	Gypsum, Baryte, Celestine, Anhydrite
sulfite	SO₃^2-
thiosulfate	S₂O₃^2-

Other Information
Year Discovered:	Ancient
Recognised as an element:	1777
Recognised By:	Antoine Lavoisier
Named For:	from the Latin word sulphurium: "to burn yellow"
CPK color coding:	#FFFF30
External Links:	Wikipedia WebElements Los Alamos National Laboratory Theodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com

Simple Compounds
Nitrides	tetrasulphur tetranitride	S₄N₄	+3
Fluorides	sulfur difluoride	SF₂	+2
	disufur difluoride	FSSF	+1
	sulfur hexafluoride	SF₆	+6
	sulfur tetrafluoride	SF₄	+4
	disulfur decafluoride	S₂F₁₀	+5
	sulfur difluoride sulphide	SSF₂	+2,+4
Chlorides	sulfur dichloride	SCl₂	+2
	disulfur dichloride	ClSSCl	+1
	trisulfur dichloride	S₃Cl₂	+1,+2
	sulfur tetrachloride	SCl₄	+4
Iodides	disulfur diiodide	S₂I₂
Oxides	sulfur dioxide	SO₂	+4
	sulfur trioxide	SO₃	+6
	disulfur oxide	S₂O	+1
	disulfur dioxide	S₂O₂	+3

Sulfur as a chromophore in minerals and gems
Chromophore	Description
S₃^-	Blue colour of lazurite (according to Platonov et al, 1984)
S₂^-	Yellow hues in lazurite - green tones are a combination of S^-₃ and S^-₂.
SO₄^-	Ion radical also proposed as a source of blue coloration in lazurite (Samoilovich)

Mineral Diversity of Sulfur
1. Elements	3 valid mineral species
2. Sulfides And Sulfosalts	674 valid mineral species
3. Halides	12 valid mineral species
4. Oxides	26 valid mineral species
5. Carbonates	15 valid mineral species
6. Borates	4 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates	508 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates	46 valid mineral species
9. Silicates	49 valid mineral species
10. Organic Compounds	7 valid mineral species
Total:	1344 valid species containing essential Sulfur

Minerals with the greatest weight % of Sulfur
Crowningshieldite	(Ni_0.9Fe_0.1)S	100.00 %
Clinosulphur	S₈	100.00 %
Native Sulphur	S₈	100.00 %
Rosickýite	S	100.00 %
Guettardite	Pb₈(Sb_0.56As_0.44)₁₆S₃₂	90.83 %
Florensovite	(Cu,Zn)Cr_1.5Sb_0.5S₄	84.73 %
Patrónite	VS₄	71.57 %
Proudite	CuPb_7.5Bi_9.33(S,Se)₂₂	68.07 %
Gillulyite	Tl₂As_7.5Sb_0.3S₁₃	57.27 %
Niningerite	MgS	56.88 %

Geochemistry of Sulfur
Goldschmidt classification:	Chalcophile
S⁶⁺ is one of the eight most abundant solutes in average river water.
S⁶⁺ solute can be a limiting nutrient in the growth of bacteria.
S⁶⁺ solute is a macronutrient on land.
S⁶⁺ is essential to nutrition of at least some vertebrates ('essential minerals').
S^2- forms minerals with Cu⁺.
S^2- forms minerals with Ag⁺.

Elemental Sulfur in Nature
Found as native element:	Native Sulphur	S₈

Elemental Abundance for Sulfur
Crust (CRC Handbook)	3.50 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)	3.0 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)	3.40 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Wänke)	8.81 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)	9.05 x 10^-4	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)	9.0 x 10^-4	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)	4.5 x 10^-1	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)	5.2 x 10^-1	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)	5.15 x 10^-1 (13%)	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)

Element association of Sulfur in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Sulfur 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 Sulfur and the element listed for that row. The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Sulfur. 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.

Element	Valid Minerals listed with element and Sulfur	% of S minerals	Relative to % in all minerals
Oxygen	717 minerals with S and O	52.26%	35.58% lower
Hydrogen	574 minerals with S and H	41.84%	24.77% lower
Copper	355 minerals with S and Cu	25.87%	91.08% higher
Lead	309 minerals with S and Pb	22.52%	107.78% higher
Iron	278 minerals with S and Fe	20.26%	9.68% lower
Antimony	219 minerals with S and Sb	15.96%	178.80% higher
Arsenic	218 minerals with S and As	15.89%	22.28% higher
Silver	187 minerals with S and Ag	13.63%	248.76% higher
Aluminium	174 minerals with S and Al	12.68%	36.25% lower
Sodium	173 minerals with S and Na	12.61%	32.41% lower
Bismuth	138 minerals with S and Bi	10.06%	139.63% higher
Calcium	132 minerals with S and Ca	9.62%	61.35% lower
Potassium	129 minerals with S and K	9.40%	5.55% lower
Zinc	99 minerals with S and Zn	7.22%	28.19% higher
Chlorine	86 minerals with S and Cl	6.27%	15.09% lower
Magnesium	81 minerals with S and Mg	5.90%	55.72% lower
Thallium	76 minerals with S and Tl	5.54%	270.36% higher
Silicon	70 minerals with S and Si	5.10%	81.48% lower
Nickel	70 minerals with S and Ni	5.10%	51.79% higher
Uranium	64 minerals with S and U	4.66%	9.36% lower
Manganese	58 minerals with S and Mn	4.23%	63.59% lower
Nitrogen	56 minerals with S and N	4.08%	60.63% higher
Mercury	54 minerals with S and Hg	3.94%	120.48% higher
Carbon	49 minerals with S and C	3.57%	56.29% lower
Tellurium	49 minerals with S and Te	3.57%	0.48% higher
Fluorine	44 minerals with S and F	3.21%	59.30% lower
Tin	43 minerals with S and Sn	3.13%	70.95% higher
Phosphorus	35 minerals with S and P	2.55%	79.24% lower
Cobalt	27 minerals with S and Co	1.97%	58.92% higher
Germanium	25 minerals with S and Ge	1.82%	163.49% higher
Vanadium	24 minerals with S and V	1.75%	63.62% lower
Cadmium	22 minerals with S and Cd	1.60%	193.25% higher
Selenium	22 minerals with S and Se	1.60%	39.94% lower
Chromium	20 minerals with S and Cr	1.46%	22.53% lower
Molybdenum	19 minerals with S and Mo	1.38%	12.13% lower
Barium	16 minerals with S and Ba	1.17%	74.91% lower
Rhodium	15 minerals with S and Rh	1.09%	171.92% higher
Platinum	15 minerals with S and Pt	1.09%	44.64% higher
Palladium	14 minerals with S and Pd	1.02%	27.90% lower
Gold	14 minerals with S and Au	1.02%	47.56% higher
Iridium	12 minerals with S and Ir	0.87%	117.54% higher
Indium	11 minerals with S and In	0.80%	193.25% higher
Iodine	10 minerals with S and I	0.73%	37.34% higher
Boron	9 minerals with S and B	0.66%	86.88% lower
Titanium	8 minerals with S and Ti	0.58%	91.70% lower
Strontium	8 minerals with S and Sr	0.58%	79.04% lower
Yttrium	8 minerals with S and Y	0.58%	75.34% lower
Cerium	6 minerals with S and Ce	0.44%	85.84% lower
Gallium	5 minerals with S and Ga	0.36%	151.78% higher
Tungsten	5 minerals with S and W	0.36%	59.54% lower
Bromine	4 minerals with S and Br	0.29%	6.64% higher
Niobium	4 minerals with S and Nb	0.29%	90.56% lower
Ruthenium	4 minerals with S and Ru	0.29%	20.86% higher
Neodymium	4 minerals with S and Nd	0.29%	65.80% lower
Beryllium	3 minerals with S and Be	0.22%	89.85% lower
Caesium	3 minerals with S and Cs	0.22%	58.80% lower
Osmium	3 minerals with S and Os	0.22%	35.96% higher
Lanthanum	2 minerals with S and La	0.15%	89.34% lower
Rhenium	2 minerals with S and Re	0.15%	353.21% higher
Lithium	1 mineral with S and Li	0.07%	96.37% lower
Gadolinium	1 mineral with S and Gd	0.07%	24.47% lower
Dysprosium	1 mineral with S and Dy	0.07%	51.07% higher
Zirconium	1 mineral with S and Zr	0.07%	96.98% lower
Thorium	1 mineral with S and Th	0.07%	88.95% lower

Periodic Table

2He

3Li

4Be

Show/hide current element

Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with S Relative Frequency

Phosphorus << Sulfur >> Chlorine

Most widespread minerals containing Sulfur
This list of minerals containing Sulfur 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 Sulfur mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Most widespread minerals containing Sulfur

This list of minerals containing Sulfur 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 Sulfur mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Name	Formula	Crystal System	Mindat Localities
Pyrite	FeS₂	Isometric	49279
Chalcopyrite	CuFeS₂	Tetragonal	33941
Galena	PbS	Isometric	30199
Sphalerite	ZnS	Isometric	26752
Baryte	BaSO₄	Orthorhombic	14692
Pyrrhotite	Fe_1-xS	Monoclinic	11808
Arsenopyrite	FeAsS	Monoclinic	11302
Gypsum	CaSO₄ · 2H₂O	Monoclinic	8959
Molybdenite	MoS₂	Hexagonal	7371
Chalcocite	Cu₂S	Monoclinic	7061

Photos
Pyrite Millstream Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia Chalcopyrite, etc. Tincroft Mine, Pool, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK Galena Indian Creek Mine, Indian Creek Subdistrict, Ebo, Washington County, Missouri, USA Sphalerite, etc. Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland Pyrite Millstream Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia Chalcopyrite, etc. Tincroft Mine, Pool, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK Galena Indian Creek Mine, Indian Creek Subdistrict, Ebo, Washington County, Missouri, USA Sphalerite, etc. Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland Pyrite Millstream Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia Chalcopyrite, etc. Tincroft Mine, Pool, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK Galena Indian Creek Mine, Indian Creek Subdistrict, Ebo, Washington County, Missouri, USA Sphalerite, etc. Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland

Photos

Pyrite

Millstream Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia

Chalcopyrite, etc.

Tincroft Mine, Pool, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK

Galena

Indian Creek Mine, Indian Creek Subdistrict, Ebo, Washington County, Missouri, USA

Sphalerite, etc.

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

Pyrite

Millstream Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia

Chalcopyrite, etc.

Tincroft Mine, Pool, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK

Galena

Indian Creek Mine, Indian Creek Subdistrict, Ebo, Washington County, Missouri, USA

Sphalerite, etc.

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

Pyrite

Millstream Station, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia

Chalcopyrite, etc.

Tincroft Mine, Pool, Carn Brea, Cornwall, England, UK

Galena

Indian Creek Mine, Indian Creek Subdistrict, Ebo, Washington County, Missouri, USA

Sphalerite, etc.

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

Localities with greatest number of different Sulfur mineral species

1	Clara Mine, Oberwolfach, Ortenaukreis, Freiburg Region, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	137 S minerals
2	Vorontsovskoe deposit (Vorontsovsk gold deposit; Vorontsovka deposit), Tur'insk, Turya river, Serovsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia	125 S minerals
3	Lengenbach Quarry, Fäld, Binn, Goms, Valais, Switzerland	114 S minerals
4	Tsumeb Mine (Ongopolo Mine), Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia	112 S minerals
5	Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona, USA	93 S minerals
6	Jáchymov, Karlovy Vary District, Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic	91 S minerals
7	Blue Lizard Mine, Red Canyon Mining District, San Juan County, Utah, USA	85 S minerals
8	Hilarion Mine, Kamariza Mines (Kamareza Mines), Agios Konstantinos (Kamariza), Lavreotiki, East Attica, Attica, Greece	83 S minerals

Important ores of Sulfur
Most sulphur is produced by desulfurization of petroleum products and cleaning of sulfur from smelting smokestack, but some sulfur is produced from roasting pyrite FeS₂ and native sulphur is still mined in some parts of the world.

Name	Formula	Crystal System
Native Sulphur	S₈	Orthorhombic
Pyrite	FeS₂	Isometric

Photos
Native Sulphur, etc. Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy Pyrite Ampliación a Victoria Mine, Navajún, La Rioja, Spain Native Sulphur, etc. Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy Pyrite Rosebery Mine, Rosebery, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia Native Sulphur, etc. Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy Pyrite Ampliación a Victoria Mine, Navajún, La Rioja, Spain Native Sulphur, etc. Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy Pyrite Rosebery Mine, Rosebery, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia Native Sulphur, etc. Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy Pyrite Ampliación a Victoria Mine, Navajún, La Rioja, Spain Native Sulphur, etc. Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy Pyrite Rosebery Mine, Rosebery, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia

Photos

Native Sulphur, etc.

Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy

Pyrite

Ampliación a Victoria Mine, Navajún, La Rioja, Spain

Native Sulphur, etc.

Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy

Pyrite

Rosebery Mine, Rosebery, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia

Native Sulphur, etc.

Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy

Pyrite

Ampliación a Victoria Mine, Navajún, La Rioja, Spain

Native Sulphur, etc.

Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy

Pyrite

Rosebery Mine, Rosebery, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia

Native Sulphur, etc.

Cianciana sulphur mines, Cianciana, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy

Pyrite

Ampliación a Victoria Mine, Navajún, La Rioja, Spain

Native Sulphur, etc.

Cozzo Disi Mine, Casteltermini, Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italy

Pyrite

Rosebery Mine, Rosebery, Rosebery district, West Coast municipality, Tasmania, Australia

Spotted a mistake/omission? - These pages are a work in progress, so please send all comments/corrections to jolyon@mindat.org. Thank you.

Constants and physical property data from:

Lide, David R. - Ed. (2005) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data (85th ed.). CRC Press.
National Physical Laboratory (2005) Kaye and Laby Online (discontinued). https://web.archive.org/web/20190506031327/http://www.kayelaby.npl.co.uk/
Kaye, G. W. C.; Laby, T. H. (n.d.) Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants and some Mathematical Functions. Longmans, Green, and Co.
Greenwood, N.N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997) Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth–Heinemann.
Ahrens, Thomas J. - Ed. (1995) Global Earth Physics - A Handbook of Physical Constants - AGU Reference Shelf No. 1. American Geophysical Union.
Railsback, L. Bruce (2003) An earth scientist's periodic table of the elements and their ions. Geology, 31 (9) 737 doi:10.1130/g19542.1
Emsley, John (2001) Nature's Building Blocks - An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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