Tenorite, sometimes also called Black Copper, is a

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

oxide mineral The oxide mineral class includes those minerals in which the oxide anion (O2−) is bonded to one or more metal alloys. The hydroxide-bearing minerals are typically included in the oxide class. Minerals with complex anion groups such as the sil ...

with the chemical formula CuO. The chemical name is Copper(II) oxide or cupric oxide.

Occurrence

Tenorite occurs in the weathered or

oxidized Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

zone associated with deeper primary copper sulfide orebodies. Tenorite commonly occurs with chrysocolla and the copper carbonates, azurite and

malachite Malachite () is a copper Carbonate mineral, carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the chemical formula, formula Basic copper carbonate, Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often for ...

. The dull grey-black color of tenorite contrasts sharply with the often intergrown blue chrysocolla. Cuprite,

native copper Native copper is an uncombined form of copper that occurs as a natural mineral. Copper is one of the few metallic elements to occur in native form, although it most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements. Native coppe ...

and Fe– Mn oxides also occur in this environment. In addition to the hydrothermal, tenorite also occurs as a volcanic sublimate from

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, and Etna,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. As a sublimate it occurs with copper chlorides, alkali chlorides and cotunnite. The Vesuvian sublimate occurrence was originally named ''melaconise'' or ''melaconite'' by F. S. Beudant in 1832.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press Tenorite was named in 1841 after the Italian botanist Michele Tenore (1780–1861).

References

Copper(II) minerals Oxide minerals Monoclinic minerals Minerals in space group 15 Minerals described in 1841 {{oxide-mineral-stub

Occurrence

See also

References