Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Hemusite

Hemusite (IMA symbol: Hm) is a very rare isometric gray mineral containing copper, molybdenum, sulfur, and tin with chemical formula Cu6SnMoS8.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
312 w
Citations
9
Source
Hemusite
Hemusite from Kawazu mine, Japan at The National Museum of Natural History, Bulgaria
General
CategorySulfosalt minerals, Sulfides
FormulaCu6SnMoS8
IMA symbolHm1
Strunz classification2.CB.35a (10 ed)
2/C.09-10 (8 ed)
Dana classification2.9.6.1
Crystal systemIsometric
Space groupP432 (no. 207), F43m (no. 216), or Fm3m (no. 225)
Identification
Colorgray
Mohs scale hardness4
Lustermetallic
DiaphaneityOpaque
Density4.469
References23456

Hemusite (IMA symbol: Hm) is a very rare isometric gray mineral containing copper, molybdenum, sulfur, and tin with chemical formula Cu6SnMoS8.2

Discovery and occurrence

It was discovered by Bulgarian mineralogist Georgi Ivanov Terziev in 1963. He also described it and named it after Haemus, the ancient name of Stara planina (Balkan) mountains in Europe. The type locality is Chelopech copper ore deposit, Bulgaria.4 Later tiny deposits of hemusite were found in Ozernovskoe deposit, Kamchatka, Russia; Kawazu mine, Rendaiji, Shimoda city, Chūbu region, Honshu Island, Japan; Iriki mine, Iriki, Satsuma-gun, Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu Region, Japan; Kochbulak deposit, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.7 Hemusite occurs as rounded isometric grains and aggregates usually about 0.05 mm in diameter and in association with enargite, luzonite, colusite, stannoidite, renierite, tennantite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, and other minerals.

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
  2. Terziev, G. (1971). "Hemusite – A Complex Copper-Tin-Molybdenum Sulfide from the Chelopech Ore Deposit, Bulgaria" (PDF). The American Mineralogist. 56 (11–12): 1847.
  3. "Information about Hemusite". Webmineral Database.
  4. "Information about Hemusite". Mindat Database.
  5. "Information about Hemusite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy.
  6. "Hemusite". RRUFF Database.
  7. "Information about Hemusite". Mineralienatlas Lexicon.
Further reading

Further reading