sulphide minerals
The Oxford Companion to the Earth
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2000
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© The Oxford Companion to the Earth 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information)
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sulphide minerals Minerals in which sulphur is combined with one or more metallic elements are classified as the sulphide minerals. Sulphides are typically metallic grey to brass coloured, and are relatively soft when compared with silicate or oxide minerals. Pyrite, FeS
2, a compound of iron and sulphur, is one of the most common sulphides and is found as a minor component in many rocks. It is also an important accessory mineral in most mineral deposits formed from high-temperature fluids. Its golden metallic colour and common occurrence in gold deposits has lead it to be mistaken for gold; hence its colloquial name of ‘fool's gold’. Other sulphides constitute the most important hosts of several elements that are extracted from ore deposits. For example, sphalerite (zinc sulphide, ZnS) and galena, (lead sulphide, PbS) are the chief ore minerals of zinc and lead, respectively. Other rarer simple sulphides are important sources of cobalt, nickel, copper, molybdenum, cadmium, mercury, antimony, and arsenic. Sulphides in which two metals combine with sulphur are also common and two of these minerals, chalcopyrite (CuFeS
2) and bornite (Cu
5FeS
4), in which copper combines with iron and sulphur, are the most commonly encountered minerals in copper deposits. Minerals in which a metal and sulphur bond with a metalloid element, usually arsenic or antinomy, form a sub-group of the sulphide minerals known as sulphosalts. These are accessory phases, commonly subordinate to the simple sulphides, in many types of mineral deposits. Sulphides are relatively unstable minerals in the surface environment and when exposed to oxidizing groundwaters resulting from mining activities, they degrade, generating high concentrations of acid: hence the term ‘acid mine drainage’.
Bruce W. Mountain
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Newspaper article from: Science Letter; 11/2/2004; 700+ words
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Different sugar kinases are involved in the sugar sensing of Galdieria sulphuraria
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Stable isotope variation among the mussel Bathymodiolus childressi and associated heterotrophic fauna at four cold-seep communities in the Gulf of Mexico.(Report)
Magazine article from: Journal of Shellfish Research; 3/1/2008; ; 700+ words
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Insights into the genome sequence of a free-living Kinetoplastid: Bodo saltans (Kinetoplastida: Euglenozoa).(Research article)(Report)
Magazine article from: BMC Genomics; 12/9/2008; ; 700+ words
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Research from F. Bringel et al broadens understanding of life sciences.
Newspaper article from: Biotech Week; 10/1/2008; 700+ words
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Teachers, school districts putting technology to the test
Newspaper article from: Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; 10/29/2006; ; 700+ words
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chemo-heterotroph
Book article from: A Dictionary of Ecology
chemo-heterotroph A chemotrophic organism that obtains its carbon chiefly or solely from organic compounds.
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heterotroph
Book article from: A Dictionary of Zoology
heterotroph An organism that is unable to manufacture its own food from simple chemical compounds and therefore consumes other organisms, living or dead, as its main or sole source of carbon. Compare AUTOTROPH .
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photo-heterotroph
Book article from: A Dictionary of Plant Sciences
photo-heterotroph A phototroph that uses organic compounds as its main or sole source of carbon.
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Kingdom
Book article from: Biology
...Note: An autotroph is an organism that uses solar energy or energy from inorganic chemicals to make organic molecules. A heterotroph obtains organic molecules by consuming other organisms or their products. Whittaker placed bacteria in their own kingdom...
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consumer
Book article from: A Dictionary of Zoology
consumer In the widest sense, a heterotroph that feeds on living or dead organic material. Two main categories are recognized: ( a ) macroconsumers (mainly animals...
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