|
Click on a
letter above to view the list of gems. |
|
|
|
| Tenorite
was named in
1841 by Prof. Giovanni Semmola in honor of Italian botanist,
Prof. Michele Tenore (1780-1861), Professor of Botany,
University of Naples, Italy.
| Discovered
in 1841; IMA
status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
|
Composition: |
Copper |
79.89 % |
Cu |
100.00 % |
CuO |
|
Oxygen |
20.11 % |
O |
|
|
|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
|
|
Classification
|
|
|
Mineral
Classification: |
Oxides
|
Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
|
4/A.05-10
|
Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
|
4.AB.10
|
|
4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites,
bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates) A : Metal: Oxygen =
2:1 and 1:1 B : M:O = 1:1 (and up to 1:1.25); with small to medium-sized
cations only
|
Related
to: |
Tenorite - Crednerite Series.
|
Varieties: |
Geltenorite
|
Synonyms: |
Black Copper,
Black Oxide of Copper, Kupferschwärze, Melaconisa,
Melaconise, Melaconite, Schwärzkupfer, Schwärzkupfererz
|
|
|
Crystal
Data
|
|
|
Crystallography:
|
Monoclinic - Prismatic
|
Crystal
Habit:
|
Lathlike
crystals, flattened on [100], elongated along [011],
to 2 mm; curved, scaly, dendritic; commonly pulverulent,
earthy, massive.
|
Twinning:
|
On
{011}, contact plane, common, forming stellate groups;
lamellar.
|
|
|
Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
Poor/indistinct
in zone [011]
|
Fracture: |
Irregular/uneven,
conchoidal
|
Tenacity:
|
Brittle;
flexible and elastic in thin scales
|
Moh's
Hardness: |
3.5
- 4.0; Vickers: VHN100=190-300 kg/mm2
|
Density:
|
6.45 - 6.50 (g/cm3)
|
Luminescence:
|
None
|
Radioactivity:
|
Not
Radioactive
|
|
|
Optical
Properties
|
|
|
Color: |
Black, steel gray
|
Transparency: |
Opaque;
translucent on very thin edges |
Luster: |
Metallic
|
Refractive
Index: |
2.10 - 2.11 Biaxial
( ? ) |
Birefringence: |
Anisotropic
|
Dispersion: |
n/a
|
Pleochroism: |
Weak; X
= light brown, Z = dark brown
|
Anisotropism: |
Strong: blue to gray;
bireflectance: strong, light
gray with golden hint |
|
|
Occurances
|
|
|
Geological
Setting: |
In the oxidized zone of copper deposits, also as volcanic sublimate.
|
Common
Associations: |
Azurite,
Chrysocolla, Copper, Cuprite, Malachite, Fe–Mn oxides
(hydrothermal); Alkali Chlorides, Copper Chlorides,
Cotunnite (volcanic). |
Common
Impurities: |
None
|
Type
Locality: |
Vesuvio (Vesuvius), Napoli, Campania, Italy
|
Year
Discovered: |
1841
|
View
mineral photos: |
Tenorite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
|
|
Unusual
Gem Categories
|
|
|
|
Black
Gems |
|
|
More
Information
|
|
|
|
Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
|
|
|
Tenorite
is a rare secondary copper oxide mineral that is rarely
faceted. It is one of those gems for "black gem"
collectors. It is usually opaque black with a metallic
luster and fairly soft. Large, pure crystals for faceting
are rare and typically found only as thin (2mm), scaley,
lathlike crystals. Most
locations produce Tenorite mixed with Azurite and
Malachite.
A recent find at the L'Etoile
du Congo Mine (Star of the Congo Mine) and the Kalukuluku
Mine, Lubumbashi (Elizabethville), Shaba, Congo (Zaïre)
has produced some larger, pure crystals.
Although
Tenorite is cited as being discovered in 1841 in
Vesuvio (Vesuvius), Napoli, Campania, Italy,
it was first referrenced by Abraham Gottlob Werner
(1749-1817) in 1789 as Kupferschwärze, which means
black copper in German. Tenorite
was named in
1841 by Prof. Giovanni Semmola in honor of Italian botanist,
Prof. Michele Tenore (1780-1861), Professor of Botany,
University of Naples, Italy.
Tenorite
distribution: many localities, but few for well-crystallized
or pure material. From Vesuvius, Campania, and Etna,
Sicily, Italy. In England, at a number of mines in Gwennap,
Redruth, St. Just, and elsewhere in Cornwall. At Leadhills,
Lanarkshire, Scotland. From Rio Tinto, Huelva Province,
Spain. In Germany, at Siegen, Westphalia; from Daaden,
Rhineland-Palatinate; and at Neubulach, Black Forest.
At Jáchymov (Joachimsthal), Czech Republic. In
Russia, from Bogoslovsk and Nizhni Tagil, Ural Mountains,
and at the Tolbachik fissure volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula.
In the USA, from Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, Michigan;
at Darwin, Inyo County, California; an ore at Bisbee,
Cochise County, Arizona. From Chuquicamata, Antofagasta,
Chile. At Tsumeb, Namibia.
|
Tenorite
gems for sale:
|
Gem:
|
Tenorite |
Stock
#:
|
TENOR-001 |
Weight:
|
2.0335
ct |
Size: |
11.10
x 5.29 x 3.44 mm |
Shape: |
Marquise |
Color: |
Black |
Clarity: |
Opaque |
Origin: |
Shaba
Province, Congo (Zaire) |
Treatment: |
None
(natural) |
Price: |
SOLD |
Pictures
are of the actual gem offered for
sale. Gem images are magnified to
show detail. |
|
|
A
very rare gem from
Kalukuluku
Mine, Lubumbashi (Elizabethville), Shaba, Congo (Zaïre).
|
|
|