Molybdenite

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Molybdenite

Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide

Molybdenum disulfide

Molybdenum disulfide is the inorganic chemistry with the chemical formula MoS2. This black crystalline sulfide of molybdenum occurs as the mineral molybdenite....
, Mo

Molybdenum

Molybdenum , is a Group 6 element chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. It has the List of elements by melting point melting point of any element....
S

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
₂. Similar in appearance and feel to graphite

Graphite

The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek language ??afe?? : "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead, as distinguished from the actual metallic element lead....
, molybdenite has a lubricating effect that is a consequence of its layered structure. The atomic structure consists of a sheet of molybdenum atoms sandwiched between sheets of sulfide

Sulfide

The term sulfide refers to several types of chemical compounds containing sulfur in its lowest oxidation number of −2.Formally, "sulfide" is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2...
atoms. The Mo-S bonds are strong, but the interaction between the sulfur atoms at the top and bottom of separate sandwich-like tri-layers is weak, resulting in easy slippage as well as cleavage planes.

Molybdenite occurs in high temperature hydrothermal ore

Ore

An ore is a type of Rock that contains minerals such as gemstones and metals that can be extracted through mining and refined for use. Samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystals, exotic layering visible when sectioned or polished or metallic presentations such as large nuggets or crystalline formations of metals suc...
deposits. Its associated minerals include pyrite

Pyrite

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula ironsulfur2. This mineral's metallic Lustre and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold due to its resemblance to gold....
, chalcopyrite

Chalcopyrite

Chalcopyrite is a copper iron sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS2....
, quartz

Quartz

Quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust . It is made up of a Crystal structure of silica tetrahedra. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and a density of 2.65 g/cm?....
, anhydrite

Anhydrite

Anhydrite is a mineral - anhydrous calcium sulfate, CaSO4. It is in the orthorhombic crystal system, with three directions of perfect cleavage parallel to the three planes of symmetry....
, fluorite

Fluorite

Fluorite is a mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CalciumFluorine. It is an Cubic mineral with a cubic habit, though octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon....
, and scheelite

Scheelite

Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral with the chemical formula calciumtungstenoxygen4. It is an important ore of tungsten. Well-formed crystals are sought by collectors and are occasionally fashioned into gemstones when suitably free of flaws....
.

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Encyclopedia

Molybdenite is a mineral of molybdenum disulfide

Molybdenum disulfide

Molybdenum disulfide is the inorganic chemistry with the chemical formula MoS2. This black crystalline sulfide of molybdenum occurs as the mineral molybdenite....
, Mo

Molybdenum

Molybdenum , is a Group 6 element chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. It has the List of elements by melting point melting point of any element....
S

Sulfur

Graphite

Sulfide

Ore

Pyrite

Chalcopyrite

Chalcopyrite is a copper iron sulfide mineral that crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has the chemical composition CuFeS2....
, quartz

Quartz

Anhydrite

Fluorite

Scheelite

Questa, New Mexico

Questa is a village in Taos County, New Mexico, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,864 at the 2000 United States Census. Located on the northwest side of the beautiful Enchanted Circle highway, near the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Red River, Questa is the least tourist-oriented town on the route....
and Climax, Colorado

Climax, Colorado

Climax was an unincorporated area mining village and a former United States Postal Service located in Lake County, Colorado. Climax was known for its large molybdenum ore deposit....
. Molybdenite also occurs in porphyry copper deposits of Arizona

Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
, Colorado

Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
, Utah

Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
, and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
.

The element rhenium

Rhenium

Rhenium is a chemical element with the symbol Re and atomic number 75. A rare silvery-white, heavy, polyvalent transition metal, rhenium resembles manganese chemically, and is used in some alloys....
is always present in molybdenite as a substitute for molybdenum, usually in the parts per million (ppm) range, but often up to 1-2%. High rhenium content results in a structural variety detectable by X-ray diffraction techniques. Molybdenite ores are essentially the only source for rhenium. The presence of the radioactive isotope rhenium-187 and its daughter isotope osmium

Osmium

Osmium is a chemical element that has the symbol Os and atomic number 76. Osmium is a hard, brittle, blue-gray or blue-black transition metal in the platinum family, and is the densest natural element....
-187 provides a useful geochronologic

Geochronology

In the natural sciences under the umbrella of natural history, Geochronology is the science of determining the absolute age of rock , fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent within the method used....
dating technique.