Berzelianite - Encyclopedia
Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
Subclass : Selenides
Crystal System : Cubic
Chemistry : Cu2Se
Rarity : Rare
Berzelianite is a rare copper selenide, present in various hydrothermal environments : calcite veins in serpentinites (Skrikerum, Sweden), hydrothermal polymetallic dolomite veins (Clausthal and Tilkerode in the Harz, Germany), iron ores (Lerbach, Germany ), hydrothermal uranium deposit in a sedimentary context (Eldorado, Saskatchewan, Canada). It is the seleniferous equivalent of chalcocite but it is much rarer than this one. It was named in honor of the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius who carried out the first analyses. There are no known crystals, berzelianite forms thin veinlets, dendritic crusts and fine scattered patches, of a bluish silver-white color dulling to lead gray or yellowish gray.
Main photo : Berzelianite from Bukov Mine, Rocná deposit, Czech Republic © Zbynek Burival
Berzelianite in the World
Twinning and special crystallizations
No known twin for this mineral species.
Fakes and treatments
No fake or treatment recorded for this mineral species.
Hardness : 2
Density : 6.71
Fracture : Irregular
Trace : Shiny to shiny black
TP : Opaque
RI : -
Birefringence : -
Optical character : -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None
Solubility : Nitric acid
Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None