May 16 2013
Livingstonite is a mineral comprising mercury, antimony and sulfur. It was named after the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingston.
Properties of Livingstonite
The following are the key properties of Livingstonite:
Cell Data
- Space Group: A2/a
- a = 30.567
- b = 4.015
- c = 21.465
- Z = 8
Crystal Data
- Monoclinic
- Point Group: 2/m
- As elongated needles up to 12 cm; also fibrous, massive, columnar, and in globular masses and interlaced needles
- X-ray powder pattern: 3.00 (100), 3.74 (70), 3.48 (70), 2.28 (60), 1.734 (50), 5.16 (40), 2.67 (30)
Chemical Composition
| Elements |
Content 1 |
Content 2 |
Content 3 |
| Hg |
22.52 |
21.0 |
21.25 |
| Sb |
53.75 |
51.6 |
51.58 |
| S |
23.73 |
28.6 |
27.17 |
| Total |
100.00 |
101.2 |
100.00 |
Optical Properties
- Optical Class: Biaxial (-)
R1–R2: (400) 35.0–44.3, (420) 34.2–44.3, (440) 33.2–44.4, (460) 32.8–44.9, (480) 32.6–44.9, (500)
32.3–43.8, (520) 31.8–42.3, (540) 31.2–41.0, (560) 30.7–40.0, (580) 30.4–39.2, (600) 29.9–38.1, (620)
29.1–36.8, (640) 28.4–35.7, (660) 27.8–34.9, (680) 27.4–34.2, (700) 26.9–33.6
Estimated Properties
| |
|
| Electron density |
Bulk density (electron density)=4.34 g/cm3
note: Specific gravity of Helvine =4.97 g/cm3 |
| Photoelectric |
PELivingstonite = 519.98 barns/electron
U=PELivingstonite x ?Electron Density=2,255.52 barns/cc |
| Fermion index |
Fermion Index = 0.06
Boson Index = 0.94 |
| Radioactivity |
Livingstonite is not radioactive |
How to Identify Livingstonite
Livingstonite is opaque and translucent in thin fragments. It has a blackish gray color. In a polished section, it is white;;, in transmitted light, it is red with deep red internal reflections. It has red streaks and a luster from adamantine to metallic.
Global Distribution
Livingstonite is distributed in the following places
- In Mexico, from the La Cruz mine, Huitzuco, Guerrero [TL] and at the Trinidad mine, Guadalc´azar, San Luis Potos´i
- It is also obtained from the Matsuo mine, Iwate Prefecture, Japan and at Khaydarkan, Fergana Valley, Alai Range, Kyrgyzstan
- From Pedrosa del Rey, Le´on, Spain.
Occurrence of Livingstonite and Useful Mineral Association
Livingstonite is present in low-temperature hydrothermal veins and associated with cinnabar, stibnite, sulfur and gypsum.
References