Bismuthinite

The most important ores are bismuthinite or bismuth glance and bismite. Peru, Japan, Mexico, Bolivia, and Canada are major bismuth producers. Much of the bismuth produced in the U.S. is obtained as a by-product in refining lead, copper, tin, silver, and gold ores. 

Bismuth oeeurs mainly as bismite (a-Bi203), bismuthinite (Bi2S3) and bismutite [(Bi0)2C03] very oeeasionally it oeeurs native, in assoeiation with Pb, Ag or Co ores. The main eommereial souree of the element is as a byproduet from Pb/Zn and Cu plants, from whieh it is obtained by special processes dependent on the nature of the main product. Sulfide ores are roasted to the oxide and then reduced by iron or charcoal. Because of its low mp, very low solubiUty in Fe, and fairly high oxidative stability in air, Bi can be melted and cast (like Pb) in iron and steel vessels. Like Sb, the metal is too brittle to roll, draw, or extrude at room temperature, but above 225°C Bi can be worked quite well. 

Orthorhombic 81283 (bismuthinite) via a solventiess method can yield either high aspect ratio (>100) nanowires at about 225 °C (Fig. 20.3 a) or lower aspect ratio ( 7) (plus sulfur which seems to change the growth kinetics) at around 160 °C. Interestingly, it is possible to fabricate a polymeric matrix from these wires and rods at higher temperatures, 250°C, as shown in Fig. 20.3b [6]. 

Bi2Se3 bismuth selenide, BiSe bismuth(III) sulfide, Bi2S3 (bismuthinite) bis-muth(III) telluride, Bi2Tc3 (tellurobismuthite) bismuth telluride, BiTe. 

Teine fahorc, gold-fieldite, hessite, native bismuthinite, fahore, hakite, native electram, bomite, chalcocite, quartz, sericite, calcite. 

Wood, S.A., Crerar, D.A. and Borcsik, M.P. (1987) Solubility of the assemblage pyrite-pyrrhotite-magnetite-sphalerite-galena-gold-stibnite-bismuthinite-argentite-molybdenite in H20-NaCl-C02 solutions from 200°C to 350°C. Econ. Geol, 82, 1864-1887. 

Six sulphide species were observed in the non-ferromagnetic heavy mineral concentrates (NFM-HMCs) of bedrock samples arsenopyrite pyrite > chalcopyrite > bismuthinite = molybdenite = cobaltite. Chalcopyrite, pyrite and bismuthinite do survive in near-surface till but only in minor amounts (<8 grains/sample). Although the Co-rich composition of arsenopyrite is possibly the strongest vector to Au-rich polymetallic mineralization in the study area, sandsized arsenopyrite is absent in C-horizon tills, suggesting that arsenopyrite more readily oxidizes than chalcopyrite and pyrite in till, and therefore is an impractical indicator mineral to detect mineralization using surficial sediments at NICO. 

Occurrence. Bismuth occurs in minerals such as bismite (Bi203), bismuthinite (Bi2S3), bismutite (Bi0)2(C03). 

Bismuth is the 70th most abundant element, and it is widely spread over the Earths crust, but in very small amounts. There are no major concentrated sources. It occurs both in the free elemental state and in several ores. The major ore, bismuthinite (B S ), is found in South America. 

Type III - sphalerlte-galena-tetrahedrite-bismuthinite-chalcopyrlte. Type IV - Hg-argentite-electrum, and Type V - late, metal-barren quartz-carbonate veins. 

Five different vein phases (Types i to V) are recognized at both deposits, aii have variabie amounts of carbonates and quartz gangue. Type i veins contain oniy brecciated quartz and carbonate minerals and at ED are spatially associated with disseminated arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and pyrite in the mafic host rock. Type II veins in both deposits are partly brecciated and contain 5-80% sulfides of dominantly pyrite, arsenopyrite, and at GB chalcopyrite. Type III veins are quartz-calcite-tetrahedrite-bismuthinite microveins that cut both Types I and II veins. The fine-grained sulfides replace and enclose arsenopyrite and pyrite in Type II veins and are also visible in microfractures within the Type II sulfides. Type IV veins are base-metal rich and characterized by galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, and stibnite with a maximum width of 20 cm. The Type V veins are late barren-carbonate veins cutting all previous veins and textural features. 

Bismuth, which has been known since ancient times, was often confused with lead and tin. Basilius Valentinus described some of its uses in 1450, but it was in 1753 that bismuth was shown by Claude Francois Geoffroy to be a distinct element. Bismuth occurs freely in nature and in such minerals as bismuthinite (Bi2S3), bismite (Bi203), and bismutite KBiObCO i. ... 

Bismuth sulfide occurs in nature as the mineral bismuthinite (bismuth glance). It is used as a starting material to produce many other bismuth compounds. 

The compound occurs in nature as mineral bismuthinite. It can be prepared in the laboratory by passing hydrogen sulfide into a solution of bismuth chloride or any soluble bismuth salt ... 

Bismuth occurs as native bismuth in Bolivia and Saxony and frequently is associated with lead, copper, and tin ores—the sulfide (bismuthinite,... 

The Bi—Mo-S system was investigated by Stemprok31) with respect to mineral occurrences of the tin-tungsten-molybdenum ore type 67). In some metallogenic provinces mineral assemblages such as bismuth + bismuthinite (Bi2S3) + molybdenite (MoS2) are frequently found, because bismuth has a much lower affinity to sulfur as compared with molybdenum. 

As the necessary sulfur activity data are available, a ternary diagram can easily be constructed. Bismuth has a lower affinity to sulfur than tungsten, thus bismuthinite would immediately react with tungsten ... 

Bismuth, element 83, is a soft gray naturally occurring metal, ft is most commonly found as bismite (Bi203), bismutite ((Bi0)2C03), or bismuthinite (Bi2S3). Bismuth is produced as a by-product of copper and lead smelting. It is the heaviest member of group 15 and the heaviest stable element. While there are many isotopes known, it is found naturally only... 

Chain structure Stibnite-type Stibnite (Sb2S3), bismuthinite (Bi,S3),... 

Bismuth is seldom found in its elemental state (as a pure metal) in the earth. Its compounds are generally found along with ores of other metals, such as lead, silver, gold, and cobalt. The most important mineral of bismuth is bismuthinite, also known as bismuth glance (Bi2S3). 

Derivation (1) By melting bismuth and sulfur together. (2) By passing hydrogen sulfide into a soluble of a bismuth salt. (3) Occurs as the mineral bismuthinite. 

It was found that silver nitrate, silver bromide, and lead chloride had no appreciable sensitizing effect on lead azide when the impact was performed with a 240-g striker falling 29 cm. However, borax and chalcocite gave 100% explosion efficiency. Bismuthinite and galena had only small sensitizing effects in spite of their high melting points, but both of these materials were soft compared to tire lead azide. 

Bismuth is a relatively rare element and ranks 64th in abundance in the earth s crust, which is estimated to contain 0.17-0.2 ppm of bismuth. This is comparable in abundance to silver and cadmium. Bismuth content increases from ultrabasic (1 X 10 %) to acid magmatic rock (1 X 10 %) and is not concentrated in the magmatic phase. Native bismuth is rarely found in nature in cobalt and silver veins, but usually occurs as the compounds, mostly sulfide (bismuthinite or bismuth glance, Bi2S3) together with complex minerals asso-... 

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