Sphalerite
| Refractive Index : 2.50 – 2.369 |
| Optical Characteristic : SR |
| Specific Gravity : 4.05 (+0.05 – 0.15) |
| Formula : ZnS + Fe |
| Crystal System : Cubic |
| Variety/Species : Sphalerite |
| Species/Group : sphalerite Group |
| Birefringence : none |
| Dispersion : 0.156 |
| Hardness : 3.5 to 4 |
| Toughness : poor |
| Ultrasonic : Never |
| Steam : Never |
| UV Long : Inert to strong |
| UV Short : Inert to strong |
| Pleochroism : None |
| Strength : N/A |
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| Pleochroism Colors : None |
| Heat : sensitive |
| Acids : Avoid hydrofluoric acid |
| Light : stable |
| Polish Luster : Adamantine |
| Fracture : conchoidal, to uneven |
| Fracture Luster : Adamantine to resinous |
| Clarity Type : N/A |
| Tones : N/A |
| Saturations : N/A |
| Cause of Color : yellow, orange, red, brown: iron |
| Enhancements : none |
| Cleavage : perfect dodecahedral. |
| Color Range : Yellow, green, orange, brown, red, greenish brown, yellow-brown. Often has color zoning. Rarely, colorless. |
| Transparency : Transparent to opaque |
| Phenomena : Asterism, 6 ray star Asterism is extremely rare in spalerite. |
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| Separations : Sphalerite from- Spessarite : Spectrum, cleavage, dispersion, color(possibly) Zircon : optic character, spectrum (possibly), magnification Scheelite : SG, optic character, fluorescence, dispersion, cleavage Andradite : magnification, spectrum, cleavage, dispersion (possibly) Sphene : optic character, spectrum, SG, dispersion(possibly) Curprite : SG, spectrum, color, dispersion, cleavage (possibly) |
| Identifying Characteristics and information RI increase with iron content. Very strong dispersion. Color zoning is common. Rough often shows cleavage surfaces. Generally inert, but may fluoresce moderate to strong orange-red (LW and SW). Orange phosphorescence. Known as Blende in Europe. |
| Spectral Data Bands at 6510, 6900 (due to cadmium). |
| Trade Names and Misnomers Black Jack Blende Cleiophane(S) False Galena Marmatite(S) Mock Lead Ore Ruby Jack (M) Schalenblende Sphalerite Wurtzite |
Tags: Sphalerite
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