Yellow crystal aggregates og the extremely rare Mo- oxide mineral tugarinovite from the type locality in Russia (Lenskoye Molybdenum Uranium Deposit, Amur Oblast, Russian Federation). Ex Vandenbroucke Museum collection from Waregem, Belgium. — Photo: David Hospital · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tugarinovite
A rare molybdenum dioxide of sulfur-poor reducing veins.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Tugarinovite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the molybdate class, with the chemical formula MoO₂.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group P2_1/c). It is a member of the Rutile structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 4.6; specific gravity 6.58; Greenish gray streak; Greasy to metallic luster.
IMA symbol Tug, IMA status: approved, named in 1979.
Formed as a primary mineral, by metasomatism in a reducing environment deficient in sulfur.
It is found associated with Uraninite, molybdenite, galena, zircon, wulfenite.
The name refers to Aleksei Ivanovich Tugarinov (1917–1977), geochemist, Moscow University, Moscow, Russia.