Briartite
Encyclopedia
Briartite is an opaque iron-grey metallic sulfide
mineral
, Cu2(Zn,Fe)GeS4 with traces of Ga and Sn, found as inclusions in other germanium
-gallium
-bearing sulfides.
It was discovered at the Prince Léopold Mine, Kipushi
, Shaba, Congo (Kinshasa)
in 1965 by Francotte
and others, and named for Gaston Briart
who had studied formations at Kipushi.
Briartite is also found in Namibia
, Greece
, and Spain
.
Sulfide
A sulfide is an anion of sulfur in its lowest oxidation state of 2-. Sulfide is also a slightly archaic term for thioethers, a common type of organosulfur compound that are well known for their bad odors.- Properties :...
mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
, Cu2(Zn,Fe)GeS4 with traces of Ga and Sn, found as inclusions in other germanium
Germanium
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. The isolated element is a semiconductor, with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon....
-gallium
Gallium
Gallium is a chemical element that has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Elemental gallium does not occur in nature, but as the gallium salt in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores. A soft silvery metallic poor metal, elemental gallium is a brittle solid at low temperatures. As it liquefies...
-bearing sulfides.
It was discovered at the Prince Léopold Mine, Kipushi
Kipushi
Kipushi is a town in Haut-Katanga District, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies 35 km southwest of the city of Lubumbashi, very close to the border with Zambia, at an altitude of 1329 m . The main economic activity of the town is mining...
, Shaba, Congo (Kinshasa)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
in 1965 by Francotte
Francotte
Francotte is a weapons manufacturer in Liège, Belgium. It can be traced back to 1805, and is still in operation today.During the first decades they manufactured various arms for various nations around Europe, among others 1,500 M1849 kammerladers for Norway. Later they concentrated on high-quality,...
and others, and named for Gaston Briart
Gaston Briart
Gaston Briart was a Belgian geologist and mining engineer who worked and studied rock formations at Prince Léopold mine, Kipushi, Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo.The mineral Briartite, discovered in Kipushi in 1965, is named in his honour....
who had studied formations at Kipushi.
Briartite is also found in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.