Molybdenite on quartz Locality : Moly Hill mine, La Motte, Abitibi RCM, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Québec, Canada Size : 5.5 x 3 x 3 cm) — Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY 3.0
Molybdenite
Also known as: Molybdenum ore.
Molybdenum disulfide — the principal ore of molybdenum — soft, greasy and graphite-like in look and feel.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Molybdenite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the sulfide class, with the chemical formula MoS₂.
It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system (space group P6_3/mmc). It is a member of the Molybdenite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 1–1.5; specific gravity 4.62–4.73; typically gray; Bluish gray streak; Metallic luster.
IMA symbol Mol, grandfathered status — known before the IMA’s founding, named in 1796.
Found in high-temperature hydrothermal veins. In disseminated deposits of the porphyry type, both with and without associated major copper mineralization.
It is found associated with Chalcopyrite, other copper sulfides.
A word derived from the Greek molybdos, lead.
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