Images
Formula: Cu2+(Te4+O3).2H2O
Tellurite, paramorph of
millsite
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 3.80 measured, 3.86 calculated
Hardness: 2½
Streak: Pale blue
Colour: Sky-blue, cobalt-blue, bluish grey, bright blue to greenish blue in transmitted light
Solubility: Soluble in hydrochloric and nitric acids
Environments
Teineite is a rare secondary mineral formed by oxidation of
copper and tellurium bearing
sulphides
(HOM).
Localities
At the type locality, the Takinosawa, Teine mine, Sapporo City, Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan,
teinite is associated with tellurite,
tellurium, pyrite,
tetrahedrite, sphalerite,
azurite, malachite,
quartz and baryte (HOM). The
teinite is an alteration product of tetrahedrite and
tellurium
(Dana).
Teineite from the Teine Mine - Image
At the Bambollita Mine, Moctezuma, Moctezuma Municipality, Sonora, Mexico, teinite is associated with
hessite, galena,
bornite, cerussite,
azurite, chlorargyrite,
quetzalcoatlite, quartz,
baryte and clay
(HOM).
At the Cole Mine, Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona, USA, teinite is associated with
cuprite, malachite and
graemite
(HOM).
At the Trixie Mine, East Tintic Mining District, Utah County, Utah, USA, teinite occurs as very nice prismatic
electric-blue crystals, usually associated with tellurite,
hessite, gold,
chlorargyrite and other sulphides and
tellurides. The crystals range in size from less than a millimetre to
several millimetres and the coatings of crystals on matrix can cover several square centimetres or more, and are
very distinctly blue
(MinRec 55.2.223-225).
Teineite from the Trixie Mine - Image
Back to Minerals