Greenockite

Greenockite is a rare cadmium sulfide mineral that typically appears yellow to orange and crystallizes in the hexagonal system.

Cadmium sulfide: Cadmium sulfide is an inorganic compound with the formula CdS, occurring naturally as greenockite and hawleyite. Greenockite is the naturally occurring hexagonal form of this compound.
Hawleyite: Hawleyite is a yellow cubic polymorph of cadmium sulfide, distinct from hexagonal greenockite. The two minerals have the same composition but different crystal structures.
Cadmium: Cadmium is a soft, toxic metallic element with atomic number 48, obtained mainly as a by-product of zinc production. Greenockite is a natural source of this element, though not a major commercial ore.
Lord Greenock: Lord Greenock was the title of Charles Murray Cathcart, a British army officer and mineral collector. Greenockite was named in honor of Cathcart.
Crystal system: A crystal system classifies crystals by their symmetry and the geometry of their unit cells. Greenockite’s hexagonal symmetry places it in one of the seven crystal systems.
Sphalerite: Sphalerite is zinc sulfide, commonly containing iron and serving as the principal ore of zinc. Greenockite often occurs as a coating or inclusion on sphalerite.
Cadmium telluride photovoltaics: Cadmium telluride photovoltaics use thin films of CdTe to convert sunlight into electricity. They illustrate a modern application of cadmium compounds, unlike greenockite’s limited direct use.
Charles Murray Cathcart: Charles Murray Cathcart was a British army officer and mineral collector who served in Canada and India. His mineral collection and title supplied the name greenockite.
Hexagonal crystal system: The hexagonal crystal system has a sixfold rotational symmetry axis and characteristic lattice geometry. This is the crystal system in which greenockite crystallizes.
Smithsonite: Smithsonite is a zinc carbonate mineral that commonly forms colorful, rounded crusts and botryoidal masses. It can occur with greenockite in oxidized zinc-ore deposits.

Linked from 1 page