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The mineralogy of Carbon

General Properties
Symbol:	C
Atomic Number:	6
Standard atomic weight (A_r):	12.0107(8)
Electron configuration:	[He] 2s² 2p²

Photos

<	Glassy carbon and a 1cm³ graphite cube	>

Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):	2.55
Atomic Radius:	67 pm
Ionic Radius:	16 pm (+4)
Van der Waals Radius:	170 pm
1st Ionization energy:	1087 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:	-154 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:	-4,-3,-2,-1,1,2,3,4

Physical Properties
Standard State:	solid
Bonding Type:	covalent network
Melting Point:	3823 K
Boiling Point:	4300 K
Density:	2.26 g/cm³
Metal/Non-Metal:	nonmetal

Main isotopes of Carbon
Isotope	% in Nature	Half Life	Decay type	Decay product
¹¹C	synthetic	20min	β+	¹¹B
¹²C	98.9%	stable
¹³C	1.1%	stable
¹⁴C	trace	5730y	β−	¹⁴N

Main ions of Carbon
Name	Ion	Example minerals
carbonate	CO₃^2-	Calcite, Dolomite, Rhodochrosite, Siderite
hydrogen carbonate (bicarbonate)	HCO₃^-

Other Information
Year Discovered:	3750 BC
Discovered By:	Egyptians and Sumerians
Recognised as an element:	1789
Recognised By:	Antoine Lavoisier
Named For:	from Latin: carbo - coal
CPK color coding:	#909090
External Links:	Wikipedia WebElements Los Alamos National Laboratory Theodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com

Simple Compounds and Mineral Names
Sulfides	carbon disulphide	CS₂	+4
Selenides	carbon diselenide	CSe₂	+4
Hydrides	methane	CH₄	+4	Methane Ice
Fluorides	carbon tetrafluoride	CF₄	+4
Chlorides	carbon tetrachloride	CCl₄	+4
Bromides	carbon tetrabromide	CBr₄	+4
Iodides	carbon tetraiodide	CI₄	+4
Oxides	carbon dioxide	CO₂	+4	Carbon Dioxide Ice
	carbon monoxide	CO	+2	Carbon Monoxide Ice
	carbon suboxide	C₃O₂	+4

Carbon as a chromophore in minerals and gems
Chromophore	Description
CO₃^-	maxixe beryl owes its blue colour to an admixture of CO^2-₃ and HCO^-₃ free radical ions which decompose to CO^-₃ under the influence of prolonged natural radiation.

Mineral Diversity of Carbon
1. Elements	17 valid mineral species
3. Halides	5 valid mineral species
4. Oxides	13 valid mineral species
5. Carbonates	283 valid mineral species
6. Borates	9 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates	22 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates	15 valid mineral species
9. Silicates	54 valid mineral species
10. Organic Compounds	82 valid mineral species
Total:	500 valid species containing essential Carbon

Minerals with the greatest weight % of Carbon
Chaoite	C	100.00 %
Lonsdaleite	C	100.00 %
Graphite	C	100.00 %
Tartarosite	C	100.00 %
Diamond	C	100.00 %
Carpathite	C₂₄H₁₂	95.97 %
Hokkaidoite	C₂₂H₁₂	95.62 %
Idrialite	C₂₂H₁₄	94.93 %
Ravatite	C₁₄H₁₀	94.34 %
Freitalite	C₁₄H₁₀	94.34 %

Geochemistry of Carbon
Goldschmidt classification:	Atmophile
C⁴⁺ is one of the eight most abundant solutes in average river water.
C^4- forms minerals with Si⁴⁺.

Elemental Carbon in Nature
Found as native element:	Diamond	C
	Lonsdaleite	C
	Shungite (1)
	Chaoite	C

Elemental Abundance for Carbon
Crust (CRC Handbook)	2.00 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)	1.80 x 10^-4	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Wänke)	3.76 x 10^-3	mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)	2.8 x 10^-5	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)	2.8 x 10^-5	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Atmosphere (NASA)	397ppm	as CO₂
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)	1.0 x 10¹	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)	1.0 x 10¹	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)	1.01 x 10¹	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)

Element association of Carbon in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Carbon and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements. The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Carbon and the element listed for that row. The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Carbon. The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row. Click on a heading to sort.

Element	Valid Minerals listed with element and Carbon	% of C minerals	Relative to % in all minerals
Oxygen	478 minerals with C and O	93.73%	15.44% higher
Hydrogen	371 minerals with C and H	72.75%	30.88% higher
Calcium	172 minerals with C and Ca	33.73%	35.42% higher
Sodium	119 minerals with C and Na	23.33%	25.43% higher
Magnesium	73 minerals with C and Mg	14.31%	7.69% higher
Silicon	71 minerals with C and Si	13.92%	49.43% lower
Aluminium	65 minerals with C and Al	12.75%	35.95% lower
Fluorine	52 minerals with C and F	10.20%	29.56% higher
Sulfur	49 minerals with C and S	9.61%	56.38% lower
Cerium	48 minerals with C and Ce	9.41%	204.88% higher
Copper	47 minerals with C and Cu	9.22%	31.90% lower
Uranium	45 minerals with C and U	8.82%	70.26% higher
Barium	41 minerals with C and Ba	8.04%	73.31% higher
Iron	41 minerals with C and Fe	8.04%	64.02% lower
Yttrium	38 minerals with C and Y	7.45%	219.07% higher
Lead	38 minerals with C and Pb	7.45%	30.88% lower
Chlorine	36 minerals with C and Cl	7.06%	3.85% lower
Phosphorus	31 minerals with C and P	6.08%	50.45% lower
Manganese	29 minerals with C and Mn	5.69%	51.23% lower
Nitrogen	28 minerals with C and N	5.49%	114.53% higher
Lanthanum	27 minerals with C and La	5.29%	289.40% higher
Potassium	25 minerals with C and K	4.90%	50.33% lower
Neodymium	25 minerals with C and Nd	4.90%	478.25% higher
Strontium	24 minerals with C and Sr	4.71%	71.05% higher
Zinc	21 minerals with C and Zn	4.12%	26.24% lower
Nickel	19 minerals with C and Ni	3.73%	10.91% higher
Boron	14 minerals with C and B	2.75%	44.99% lower
Zirconium	10 minerals with C and Zr	1.96%	18.82% lower
Chromium	8 minerals with C and Cr	1.57%	16.18% lower
Vanadium	7 minerals with C and V	1.37%	71.49% lower
Cobalt	7 minerals with C and Co	1.37%	11.44% higher
Titanium	6 minerals with C and Ti	1.18%	83.32% lower
Niobium	6 minerals with C and Nb	1.18%	61.89% lower
Arsenic	5 minerals with C and As	0.98%	92.45% lower
Tellurium	5 minerals with C and Te	0.98%	72.51% lower
Mercury	5 minerals with C and Hg	0.98%	45.27% lower
Lithium	4 minerals with C and Li	0.78%	60.77% lower
Bismuth	4 minerals with C and Bi	0.78%	81.28% lower
Gadolinium	4 minerals with C and Gd	0.78%	717.25% higher
Thorium	4 minerals with C and Th	0.78%	22.59% higher
Dysprosium	3 minerals with C and Dy	0.59%	1,125.88% higher
Tantalum	3 minerals with C and Ta	0.59%	48.20% lower
Iodine	2 minerals with C and I	0.39%	25.70% lower
Tungsten	2 minerals with C and W	0.39%	56.99% lower
Beryllium	1 mineral with C and Be	0.20%	90.92% lower
Bromine	1 mineral with C and Br	0.20%	31.90% lower
Germanium	1 mineral with C and Ge	0.20%	72.14% lower
Selenium	1 mineral with C and Se	0.20%	92.70% lower
Molybdenum	1 mineral with C and Mo	0.20%	87.49% lower
Cadmium	1 mineral with C and Cd	0.20%	63.94% lower
Samarium	1 mineral with C and Sm	0.20%	145.18% higher
Erbium	1 mineral with C and Er	0.20%	1,125.88% higher
Ytterbium	1 mineral with C and Yb	0.20%	104.31% higher

Periodic Table

2He

3Li

4Be

Show/hide current element

Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with C Relative Frequency

Boron << Carbon >> Nitrogen

Most widespread minerals containing Carbon
This list of minerals containing Carbon is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Carbon mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Most widespread minerals containing Carbon

This list of minerals containing Carbon is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Carbon mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Name	Formula	Crystal System	Mindat Localities
Calcite	CaCO₃	Trigonal	37239
Malachite	Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂	Monoclinic	15282
Dolomite	CaMg(CO₃)₂	Trigonal	12953
Siderite	FeCO₃	Trigonal	8413
Azurite	Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂	Monoclinic	6686
Cerussite	PbCO₃	Orthorhombic	6099
Ankerite	Ca(Fe²⁺,Mg)(CO₃)₂	Trigonal	4247
Aragonite	CaCO₃	Orthorhombic	4085
Graphite	C	Hexagonal	3852
Smithsonite	ZnCO₃	Trigonal	3078

Photos
Calcite Scott Mine, Hockerville, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA Malachite Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines copper-cobalt project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo Dolomite Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Siderite Kolomela Mine, Postmasburg, Tsantsabane Local Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa Calcite Scott Mine, Hockerville, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA Malachite Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines copper-cobalt project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo Dolomite Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Siderite Kolomela Mine, Postmasburg, Tsantsabane Local Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa Calcite Scott Mine, Hockerville, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA Malachite Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines copper-cobalt project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo Dolomite Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Siderite Kolomela Mine, Postmasburg, Tsantsabane Local Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa

Photos

Calcite

Scott Mine, Hockerville, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA

Malachite

Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines copper-cobalt project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo

Dolomite

Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Siderite

Kolomela Mine, Postmasburg, Tsantsabane Local Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa

Calcite

Scott Mine, Hockerville, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA

Malachite

Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines copper-cobalt project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo

Dolomite

Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Siderite

Kolomela Mine, Postmasburg, Tsantsabane Local Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa

Calcite

Scott Mine, Hockerville, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, USA

Malachite

Mashamba West Mine, Sicomines copper-cobalt project, Mutshatsha, Lualaba, DR Congo

Dolomite

Friedrichssegen Mine, Friedrichssegen, Lahnstein, Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Siderite

Kolomela Mine, Postmasburg, Tsantsabane Local Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa

Localities with greatest number of different Carbon mineral species

1	Poudrette quarry (De-Mix quarry; Demix quarry; Uni-Mix quarry; Carrière Mont Saint-Hilaire; MSH), Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada	85 C minerals
2	Clara Mine, Oberwolfach, Ortenaukreis, Freiburg Region, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	43 C minerals
3	Tsumeb Mine (Ongopolo Mine), Tsumeb, Oshikoto Region, Namibia	34 C minerals
	Vuoriyarvi alkaline-ultrabasic massif, Northern Karelia, Murmansk Oblast, Russia	29 C minerals
	Green River Formation, USA	29 C minerals
6	Kovdor Massif, Kovdorsky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia	26 C minerals
7	Sounion Mine No. 19, Cato Sounio mines, Sounion, Lavreotiki, East Attica, Attica, Greece	26 C minerals
8	Uranus Mine, Kleinrückerswalde, Annaberg-Buchholz, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany	26 C minerals

Important ores of Carbon
Although most pure carbon is produced from processing coals and oils, pure carbon in the form of graphite is still mined in many parts of the world.

Name	Formula	Crystal System
Graphite	C	Hexagonal

Photos
Graphite Magnesite deposit, Sunk, Hohentauern, Murtal District, Styria, Austria Graphite Crestmore, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California, USA Graphite Ledge Road, Windham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA Graphite Rhein Property, Amity, Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York, USA Graphite Magnesite deposit, Sunk, Hohentauern, Murtal District, Styria, Austria Graphite Crestmore, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California, USA Graphite Ledge Road, Windham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA Graphite Rhein Property, Amity, Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York, USA Graphite Magnesite deposit, Sunk, Hohentauern, Murtal District, Styria, Austria Graphite Crestmore, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California, USA Graphite Ledge Road, Windham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA Graphite Rhein Property, Amity, Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York, USA

Photos

Graphite

Magnesite deposit, Sunk, Hohentauern, Murtal District, Styria, Austria

Graphite

Crestmore, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California, USA

Graphite

Ledge Road, Windham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA

Graphite

Rhein Property, Amity, Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York, USA

Graphite

Magnesite deposit, Sunk, Hohentauern, Murtal District, Styria, Austria

Graphite

Crestmore, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California, USA

Graphite

Ledge Road, Windham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA

Graphite

Rhein Property, Amity, Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York, USA

Graphite

Magnesite deposit, Sunk, Hohentauern, Murtal District, Styria, Austria

Graphite

Crestmore, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, California, USA

Graphite

Ledge Road, Windham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA

Graphite

Rhein Property, Amity, Town of Warwick, Orange County, New York, USA

Important industrial minerals containing Carbon

Name	Formula	Crystal System
Diamond	C	Isometric
Humic coal series
Calcite	CaCO₃	Trigonal
Dolomite	CaMg(CO₃)₂	Trigonal

Photos
Diamond South Africa Humic coal series Carborough Downs, Coppabella, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia Calcite, etc. Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia Dolomite Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Navarre, Spain Diamond South Africa Humic coal series Carborough Downs, Coppabella, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia Calcite, etc. Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia Dolomite Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Navarre, Spain Diamond South Africa Humic coal series Carborough Downs, Coppabella, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia Calcite, etc. Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia Dolomite Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Navarre, Spain

Photos

Diamond

South Africa

Humic coal series

Carborough Downs, Coppabella, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia

Calcite, etc.

Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia

Dolomite

Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Navarre, Spain

Diamond

South Africa

Humic coal series

Carborough Downs, Coppabella, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia

Calcite, etc.

Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia

Dolomite

Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Navarre, Spain

Diamond

South Africa

Humic coal series

Carborough Downs, Coppabella, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia

Calcite, etc.

Onganja Mine, Helen Farm 235, Seeis, Windhoek Rural, Khomas Region, Namibia

Dolomite

Azcárate Quarry, Eugui, Esteríbar, Navarre, Spain

Spotted a mistake/omission? - These pages are a work in progress, so please send all comments/corrections to jolyon@mindat.org. Thank you.

Constants and physical property data from:

Lide, David R. - Ed. (2005) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data (85th ed.). CRC Press.
National Physical Laboratory (2005) Kaye and Laby Online (discontinued). https://web.archive.org/web/20190506031327/http://www.kayelaby.npl.co.uk/
Kaye, G. W. C.; Laby, T. H. (n.d.) Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants and some Mathematical Functions. Longmans, Green, and Co.
Greenwood, N.N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997) Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth–Heinemann.
Ahrens, Thomas J. - Ed. (1995) Global Earth Physics - A Handbook of Physical Constants - AGU Reference Shelf No. 1. American Geophysical Union.
Railsback, L. Bruce (2003) An earth scientist's periodic table of the elements and their ions. Geology, 31 (9) 737 doi:10.1130/g19542.1
Emsley, John (2001) Nature's Building Blocks - An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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