A crystal cadmium bar . Purity 99.999 %. Made by the flux process . As well as a 1 cm 3 cadmium cube for comparison. — Photo: Alchemist-hp ( talk ) ( www.pse-mendelejew.de ) · FAL
Cadmium
A soft, silvery-white metal (symbol Cd, atomic number 48) chemically similar to zinc and mercury — and toxic.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cadmium is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the native element class, with the chemical formula Cd.
It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system (space group P6_3/mmc).
Key properties: specific gravity 8.65; Metallic. R1 –R2: n.d luster.
IMA symbol Cd, IMA status: approved, named in 1818.
Found in the heavy, non-magnetic fraction of a mechanical concentrate from a gabbro intrusive (Ust’-Khann’ya intrusive, Russia); a product of post-magmatic activity in mineralized aleurolites, sandstones, dolostones.
It is found associated with Moissanite, Fe, Cu, Pb, Sn, Zn, Cu–Zn alloy, Sn–Sb alloy, sulfides, garnet, spinel, kyanite, corundum, rutile (Ust’-Khannin intrusive, Russia); monteponite.
Its name comes from the Greek for calamine, as the element occurs in slags resulting from smelting smithsonite (formerly calamine) ore.