Tennantite-(Fe)

Where it forms, where it's found

Type locality: Cornwall
England
UK

70recorded occurrences

Source · OpenStreetMap

Safety & handling

Crystallography

Crystal system: Isometric
Space group: #210
Cell parameters: a = 10.232 Å
Comment: Cell data for sample (probably Zn-dominant, i.e. tennantite-(Zn)) from Lengenbach, Binntal (Edenharter et al., 1971). By analogy with other members of Tetrahedrite group

Crystal structure

Chemical composition

Constituent elements: Mass composition breakdown
Element Atoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/mol Mass share
29CuCopper Copper 10 63.546 635.460
43.42%
16SSulfur Sulfur 13 32.060 416.780
28.48%
33AsArsenic Arsenic 4 74.922 299.688
20.47%
26FeIron Iron 2 55.845 111.690
7.63%
Total 1463.618 100.00%
Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100
From IMA formula

Mass composition breakdown
Element	Atoms	At. mass g/mol	Mass g/mol	Mass share
29CuCopper	Copper	10	63.546	635.460	43.42%
16SSulfur	Sulfur	13	32.060	416.780	28.48%
33AsArsenic	Arsenic	4	74.922	299.688	20.47%
26FeIron	Iron	2	55.845	111.690	7.63%
	Total	1463.618	100.00%

Synonyms

Fe-tennantite
Tennantiet-(Fe)

In other languages

German: Tennantit-(Fe)
Italian: Tennantite- · Tennantite-(Fe)

Classification

Strunz

10th ed.

2.GB.05

2Sulfides and SulfosaltsClass
2.GSulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthitesDivision
2.GBNeso-sulfarsenites, etc. with additional SGroup
2.GB.05Tennantite-(Fe)Species

Group, growth & confusion

7 members

Literature, links & citation

Citations

1819Phillips, R. (1819) Analysis of the copper ore, described in the preceding paper. The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and the Arts, 7, 100–102.
1819Phillips, W. (1819) Description of an ore of copper from Cornwall. The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and the Arts, 7, 95–100.
2010Kharbish, S., Giester, G., Beran, A. (2010) Contribution to the crystal structures of tennantite and bournonite. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Abhandlungen: 187: 159-166. [structure of tennantite-(Fe)]
2019Miyawaki, Ritsuro, Hatert, Frédéric, Mills, Stuart J. (2019) New minerals and nomenclature modifications approved in 2019. CNMNC Newsletter 49. Mineralogical Magazine, 83 (3) 479-483 doi:10.1180/mgm.2019.35 DOI: 10.1180/mgm.2019.35
2020Biagioni, Cristian, George, Luke L., Cook, Nigel J., Makovicky, Emil, Moëlo, Yves, Pasero, Marco, Sejkora, Jiří, Stanley, Chris J., Welch, Mark D., Bosi, Ferdinando (2020) The tetrahedrite group: Nomenclature and classification. American Mineralogist, 105 (1) 109-122 doi:10.2138/am-2020-7128DOI: 10.2138/am-2020-7128

Cite this entry

@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Tennantite-(Fe) — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/tennantite-fe-53589},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}