Named in honor of Dr. Albert James Ellis (27 December 1929, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand - 2 April 2023, Waikanae, New Zealand), geochemist, Chemistry Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Zealand, for his contributions to the field of hydrothermal geochemistry.

Type Locality:

ⓘ Carlin Gold mine, Elko, Lynn Mining District, Eureka County, Nevada, USA

This page provides mineralogical data about Ellisite.

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Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

1368

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:1368:6

GUID
(UUID V4):

a78e590d-ac4f-4c26-b3f7-887c57a82cbe

IMA Classification of EllisiteHide

IMA status:

Approved

First published:

1979

Type description reference:

Dickson, Frank W., Radtke, Arthur S., Peterson, Jocelyn A. (1979) Ellisite, Tl3AsS3, a new mineral from the Carlin gold deposit, Nevada, and associated sulfide and sulfosalt minerals. American Mineralogist, 64 (7-8) 701-707

Classification of EllisiteHide

Strunz-mindat (2024):

2.JC.05

2 : SULFIDES and SULFOSALTS (sulfides, selenides, tellurides; arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides; sulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites, etc.)
J : Sulfosalts of PbS archetype
C : Galena derivatives, with Tl

Dana 8th ed.:

3.4.9.1

3 : SULFOSALTS
4 : ø = 3

Hey's CIM Ref.:

5.5.2

5 : Sulphosalts - Sulpharsenites and Sulphobismuthites (those containing Sn, Ge,or V are in Section 6)
5 : Sulpharsenites etc. of Tl

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Symbol	Source	Reference
Els	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of EllisiteHide

Lustre:

Metallic

Transparency:

Opaque

Colour:

Dark gray

Streak:

Light brown with a tinge of orange

Hardness:

2 on Mohs scale

Hardness:

VHN₅₀=36 - 44 kg/mm² - Vickers

Cleavage:

Distinct/Good
Good rhombohedral

Fracture:

Hackly

Density:

7.10(5) g/cm³ (Measured) 7.18 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Comment:

Measured on synthetic material

Optical Data of EllisiteHide

Anisotropism:

From blue-purple to red-purple to brownish orange.

Reflectivity:

Wavelength	R₁	R₂
470nm	31.7%	17.5%
546nm	29.2%	16.2%
589nm	28.9%	15.3%
650nm	28.3%	14.9%

Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Top of box is 100%. Peak reflectance is 31.7%.
R₁ shown in black, R₂ shown in red

Colour in reflected light:

Light gray with purplish tint.

Internal Reflections:

Deep red to deep orange-red.

Pleochroism:

Weak

Comments:

Light purplish gray to light pinkish gray.

Chemistry of EllisiteHide

Mindat Formula:

Tl₃AsS₃

Elements listed:

As, S, Tl - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of EllisiteHide

Crystal System:

Trigonal

Class (H-M):

3m - Ditrigonal Pyramidal

Space Group:

R3m

Cell Parameters:

a = 12.324 Å, c = 9.647 Å

Ratio:

a:c = 1 : 0.783

Unit Cell V:

1,268.90 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Morphology:

Anhedral grains

Comment:

Synthetic

Crystal StructureHide

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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure

ID	Species	Reference	Link	Year	Locality	Pressure (GPa)	Temp (K)
0010824	Ellisite	Gostojic M (1980) Die kristallstruktur von synthetischem ellisit, Tl3AsS3 Zeitschrift fur Kristallographie 151 249-254		1980	synthetic	0	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Ellisite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Gostojic M'
_journal_name_full 'Zeitschrift fur Kristallographie'
_journal_volume 151 
_journal_year 1980
_journal_page_first 249
_journal_page_last 254
_publ_section_title
;
 Die kristallstruktur von synthetischem ellisit, Tl3AsS3
 Note: anisob's corrected to match reported Biso's
;
_database_code_amcsd 0010824
_chemical_compound_source 'Synthetic'
_chemical_formula_sum 'Tl3 As S3'
_cell_length_a 5.9967
_cell_length_b 5.9967
_cell_length_c 5.9967
_cell_angle_alpha 105.87
_cell_angle_beta 105.87
_cell_angle_gamma 105.87
_cell_volume 184.847
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      7.045
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'R 3 m'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  'x,z,y'
  'z,x,y'
  'y,x,z'
  'y,z,x'
  'z,y,x'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
Tl   0.99570   0.99570   0.60880   0.04053
As   0.44580   0.44580   0.44580   0.02254
S   0.43100   0.43100   0.06700   0.03648
loop_
_atom_site_aniso_label
_atom_site_aniso_U_11
_atom_site_aniso_U_22
_atom_site_aniso_U_33
_atom_site_aniso_U_12
_atom_site_aniso_U_13
_atom_site_aniso_U_23
Tl 0.03574 0.03574 0.04268 0.00781 0.01215 0.01215
As 0.02025 0.02025 0.02025 0.00434 0.00434 0.00434
S 0.03906 0.03906 0.02170 0.01085 0.00651 0.00651

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
5.333 Å	(37)
3.559 Å	(20)
3.214 Å	(53)
2.757 Å	(10)
2.669 Å	(100)
2.327 Å	(28)
1.780 Å	(15)

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
High-𝑇 alteration and/or metamorphism
33 : Minerals deposited by hydrothermal metal-rich fluids (see also [#12])

Type Occurrence of EllisiteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Carlin Gold mine, Elko, Lynn Mining District, Eureka County, Nevada, USA

General Appearance of Type Material:

Dispersed grains and small discontinuous patches.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

Epithermal Minerals Collection, Department of Geology, Stanford University, California.

Geological Setting of Type Material:

Carlin type gold deposit.

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Reference:

Dickson, F.W., Radtke, A.S., Peterson, J.A. (1979) Ellisite, Tl3AsS3, a new mineral from the Carlin gold deposit, Nevada, and associated sulfide and sulfosalt minerals. American Mineralogist: 64: 701-707.

Synonyms of EllisiteHide

IMA1977-041

Other Language Names for EllisiteHide

German:Ellisit

Russian:Эллисит

Simplified Chinese:硫砷铊矿

Spanish:Ellisita

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

2.JC.10	Gillulyite	Tl₂As_7.5Sb_0.3S₁₃	Mon. 2/m
2.JC.25e	Galenobismutite	PbBi₂S₄	Orth. mmm (2/m 2/m 2/m)

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:

No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for EllisiteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-1368.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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External Links:

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Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

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References for EllisiteHide

Reference List:

Gostojić, M. (1980) Die Kristallstruktur von synthetischem Ellisit, Tl3AsS3. Zeitschrift für Kristallographie: 151: 249-254.

(2023) Ellisite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Localities for EllisiteHide

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed.

- This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.

- Good crystals or important locality for species.

- World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.


China
Yunnan Chuxiong Nanhua County ⓘ Nanhua As-Tl deposit	Minzhi Yang (2000) +1 other reference

USA (TL)
Nevada Eureka County Lynn Mining District Elko ⓘ Carlin Gold mine (TL)	Min.Rec.:20:469. +1 other reference

Ellisite