Clausthalite is a lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 selenide mineral

Selenide mineral

Selenide minerals are those minerals that have the selenide anion as a main component.Selenides are similar to sulfides and often grouped with them.Examples include:* athabascaite Cu5Se4* clausthalite PbSe* penroseite Se2* stilleite ZnSe...

, PbSe. It forms a solid solution

Solid solution

A solid solution is a solid-state solution of one or more solutes in a solvent. Such a mixture is considered a solution rather than a compound when the crystal structure of the solvent remains unchanged by addition of the solutes, and when the mixture remains in a single homogeneous phase...

 series with galena

Galena

Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...

 PbS.

Occurrence

It occurs in low-sulfur hydrothermal deposits with other selenides and in mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

 deposits. It is associated with tiemannite

Tiemannite

Tiemannite is a mineral, mercury selenide, formula HgSe. It occurs in hydrothermal veins associated with other selenides, or other mercury minerals such as cinnabar, and often with calcite. Discovered in 1855 in Germany, it is named after C. W...

, klockmannite, berzelianite, umangite

Umangite

Umangite is a copper selenide mineral, Cu3Se2, discovered in 1891. It occurs only in small grains or fine granular aggregates with other copper minerals of the sulfide group. It has a hardness of 3. It is blue-black to red-violet in color with a black streak. It has a metallic luster.Umangite is...

, gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

, stibiopalladinite

Stibiopalladinite

Stibiopalladinite is a mineral containing the chemical elements palladium and antimony. Its chemical formula is Pd5Sb2. It is a silvery white to steel grey opaque mineral crystallizing in the hexagonal crystal system....

 and uraninite

Uraninite

Uraninite is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2, but also contains UO3 and oxides of lead, thorium, and rare earth elements...

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It was first described in 1832 and named for the discovery locality of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Harz Mountains, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

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