Bronze yellow single crystal of vulcanite from Good Hope Mine, Vulcan, Gunnison County, Colorado, United States of America. Ex Vandenbroucke Museum collection from Waregem, Belgium. — Photo: David Hospital · CC BY-SA 4.0
Vulcanite
A rare bronze-tinted copper telluride — soft (Mohs 1–2) metallic plates.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Vulcanite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the sulfide class, with the chemical formula CuTe.
It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system (space group Pmmn).
Key properties: Mohs hardness 1–2; specific gravity 7.1; Metallic luster.
IMA symbol Vul, IMA status: approved, named in 1961.
Intermixed with other tellurides.
It is found associated with Rickardite, tellurium (Good Hope mine, Colorado); rickardite, petzite, sylvanite (Byn’govsk deposit, Russia).
The name commemorates the locality, Vulcan, Colorado, USA.