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The Elements Class of Minerals


Here are some of the mineral types found in the Elements Class

This class which includes over one hundred known minerals are a diverse class when taken as a whole. Native elements in a free, uncombined state are not common. With a few exceptions they are not found as natural minerals. Among the nonmetallic solid elements sulfur and the two forms of carbon diamond and graphite are often seen pure in nature. The metals are the most numerous of the native elements. Their malleability, which is the way they can be flattened and shaped by hammering and their metallic appearance, makes them easy to recognize. A yellow native metal that can be flattened by hammering can only be gold. There are a few more elements known as semi-metals, which have some characteristics in common with the metals. Alloys that are composed of semi-metals with metals are classified as sulfides but are sometimes listed as elements. The greatest difference in the metals is color. The nonmetals, however, are extremely diverse. For instance, the hardest mineral known to man is from this subclass, as well as one of the softest. The Elements Class contains minerals that are composed of more than one element. Elements, by the chemical definition are composed of all the same atoms; whereas substances composed of two or more elements are compounds. The inconsistency is explained by allowing only those minerals whose bonding is similar to the more traditional elements. Metal alloys bond with metallic bonds and the carbon-carbon bond of diamond is similar to the carbon-silicon bond in moissanite. This type of covalent bonding is called elemental bonds. The Elements Class is a complicated and interesting class of minerals.

Subclass: Native Metals:
Cadmium (Cd)
Chromium (Cr)
The Gold Group:
............Aluminum (Al)
...............Copper (Cu)
...................Gold (Au)
...................Lead (Pb)
..............Mercury (Hg )
..................Silver (Ag )
Indium (In)
Iron (Fe)
Nickel (Ni)
The Platinum Group:
.................Iridium (Ir, Os, Ru)
........................Palladium (Pd)
...........................Platinum (Pt)
....................Rhodium (Rh, Pt)
Tellurium (Te)
Tin (Sn)
Titanium (Ti)
Zinc (Zn)

Metallic Alloys:
Anyuiite Au(Pb, Sb)2
Auricupride Cu3Au
Belendorffite Cu7Hg6
Brass Cu3Zn2
Cabriite Pd2SnCu
Chengdeite Ir3Fe
Cupalite (Cu, Zn)Al
Danbaite CuZn2
Eugenite Ag9Hg2
Hunchunite (Au, Ag)2Pb
The Iron-nickel Group:
..............................................Iron (Fe)
..............................Iron-nickel (Fe, Ni)
......................Kamacite alpha- (Fe, Ni)
..........Nickel Ni Taenite beta - (Fe, Ni)
..............................Tetrataenite (Fe,Ni)
................................Wairauite (Co,Fe)
Isoferroplatinum (Pt, Pd)3(Fe, Cu)
Kolymite Cu7Hg6
Leadamalgam HgPb2
Luanheite Ag3Hg
Maldonite Au2Bi
Moschellandsbergite Ag2Hg3
Osmium (Os, Ir)
Paraschachnerite Ag3Hg2
Plumbopalladinite Pd3Pb2
Schachnerite Ag1.1Hg0.9
Stannopalladinite (Pd, Cu)3Sn2
Tetraauricupride AuCu
Tetraferroplatinum PtFe
Weishanite (Au, Ag)3Hg2
Yuanjiangite AuSn
Zhanghengite (Cu, Zn, Fe, Al, Cr)

Subclass: Native Non-metals and Semi-metals
Arsenic Group:
..................................Arsenic (As)
...................................Bismuth (Bi)
.............................Stibarsen (SbAs)
................................Stistaite (SnSb)
Arsenolamprite (As)
Carbon Group:
.....................................Chaoite (C)
...................................Diamond (C)
......................... ..........Graphite (C)
................................Lonsdaleite (C)
..............................Moissanite (SiC)
Nierite (Si3N4)
Paradocrasite Sb2(Sb, As)2
Rosickyite (S)
Selenium (Se)
Silicon (Si)
Sinoite (Si2N2O)
Sulfur (S)
Tellurium (Te)

Minerals with metallic and nonmetallic elements:
Barringerite (Fe, Ni)2P
Carlsbergite CrN
Cohenite Fe3C
Haxonite (Fe, Ni)23C6
Niggliite PtSn
Nierite Si3N4
Osbornite TiN
Perryite (Fe, Ni)8(Si, P)3
Roaldite Fe4N
Schreibersite (Fe, Ni)3P
Siderazot Fe5N2
Suessite (Fe, Ni)3Si
Tongbaite Cr3C2

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