molybdenite

[ muh-lib-duh-nahyt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a soft, graphitelike mineral, molybdenum sulfide, MoS 2 , occurring in foliated masses or scales: the principal ore of molybdenum.

molybdenite

/ mɒˈlɪbdɪˌnaɪt /

a soft grey mineral consisting of molybdenum sulphide in hexagonal crystalline form with rhenium as an impurity: the main source of molybdenum and rhenium. Formula: MoS 2

molybdenite

/ mə-lĭb′də-nīt′ /

A soft, lead-gray hexagonal mineral that is the principal ore of molybdenum. It occurs as sheetlike masses in pegmatites and in areas where contact metamorphism has taken place. Chemical formula: MoS 2 .

1790–1800; obsolete molybden(a) molybdenum + -ite ¹

The chief ore minerals are molybdenite (molybdenum sulphide) and wulfenite (lead molybdate).

In molybdenite deposits secondary concentration has not been important.

Wulfenite is rather common in the upper oxidized zone of deposits which contain lead minerals and molybdenite.

In the deposits of New South Wales they are found associated with molybdenite in quartz gangue, in pipe-like deposits in granite.

The larger part of the world's production is from the molybdenite ores.

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