Name/Title
SulfurEntry/Object ID
2004.1.41Description
Assemblage Zone: pegmatite dikes
Chemical Composition: S , Elemental Sulfur
Crystal System: Orthorhombic System
Description: Common Name: Sulfur
Group Name: Elements
Chemistry: S , Elemental Sulfur
Location: Sicily, Italy
Description: Bright yellow lemon colored crystal.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color is a strong yellow color in thick crystals and duller yellow in small crystals to pale yellow in massive or powdery forms. Can also be reddish or greenish yellow with impurities.
Luster is vitreous to more often resinous or earthy in massive forms.
Transparency is transparent to translucent.
Crystal System is orthorhombic; 2/m 2/m 2/m
Crystal Habits include mostly massive or powdery forms but well shaped blocky crystals are common. Crystals can be made up of two dipyramids, one with steeper faces than the other, prisms and/or pinacoids in various combinations.
Cleavage is very poor in two directions.
Fracture is conchoidal.
Streak is yellow.
Hardness is 2.
Specific Gravity is 2.0 - 2.1 (well below average)
Associated Minerals are celestite, calcite, aragonite and gypsum.
Other Characteristics: odor (see above), poor heat conductivity makes it brittle when heated and can actually crack if held tightly in a person's hand.e.
Best Field Indicators are color, odor, heat sensitivity, lack of good cleavage and crystal habit
Fracture: conchoidal
Hardness: 2 Gypsum
Luster: Vitreous
Occurrence: Elemental sulfur can be found near hot springs and volcanic regions in many parts of the world, especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Such volcanic deposits are currently mined in Indonesia, Chile, and Japan. Sicily is also famous for its sulfur mines. Sulfur deposits are polycrystalline, and the largest documented single crystal measured 22x16x11 cm3.[13][14]
Significant deposits of elemental sulfur also exist in salt domes along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and in evaporites in eastern Europe and western Asia. The sulfur in these deposits is believed to come from the action of anaerobic bacteria on sulfate minerals, especially gypsum, although apparently native sulfur may be produced by geological processes alone, without the aid of living organisms (see below). However, fossil-based sulfur deposits from salt domes are the basis for commercial production in the United States, Poland, Russia, Turkmenistan, and UkraineSulfur production through hydrodesulfurization of oil, gas, and the Athabasca Oil Sands has produced a surplus — huge stockpiles of sulfur now exist throughout Alberta, Canada.
Common naturally occurring sulfur compounds include the sulfide minerals, such as pyrite (iron sulfide), cinnabar (mercury sulfide), galena (lead sulfide), sphalerite (zinc sulfide) and stibnite (antimony sulfide); and the sulfates, such as gypsum (calcium sulfate), alunite (potassium aluminium sulfate), and barite (barium sulfate). It occurs naturally in volcanic emissions, such as from hydrothermal vents, and from bacterial action on decaying sulfur-containing organic matter.
The distinctive colors of Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io, are from various forms of molten, solid and gaseous sulfur. There is also a dark area near the Lunar crater Aristarchus that may be a sulfur deposit.
Sulfur is present in many types of meteorites. Ordinary chondrites contain on average 2.1% sulfur, and carbonaceous chondrites may contain as much as 6.6%. Sulfur in meteorites is normally present entirely as troilite (FeS), but other sulfides are found in some meteorites, and carbonaceous chondrites contain free sulfur, sulfates, and possibly other sulfur compounds
.Notable Occurrences include Michigan and Ohio, USA; Sicily; Poland and Chil
Rock Type: Sedimentary
Specific Gravity: 2-2.1
Streak: yellow
Variety: Sulfur (spelled sulphur in some countries) can make a very beautiful mineral specimen, and fine quality examples are much sought after. The unmistakable deep yellow color is not matched by any other mineral and the nicely shaped crystal forms of sulfur add to its attractivenessCollection
Suomynona Mineral Collection, Suomynona CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2004.1Source or Donor
Suomynona Mineral CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationDimensions
Width
2-1/4 inLength
5 inWeight
1.37 ozDimension Notes
Dimension taken at widest pointsLocation
Location
Display Case
FS-5Room
Frieda Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
ExhibitMoved By
Ian C.Date
January 29, 2025Notes
Major mineral groups installationLocation
Display Case
FS-16Room
Frieda Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
PermanentMoved By
Curtis GardnerDate
May 25, 2023Notes
Added current location