Rheniite

Description

Rheniite has a hardness of 1.5 and a specific gravity of 7.5. Rheniite is one of the very rare representations of Rhenium as it’s found naturally, being one of the only two (or three) minerals to be comprised of Rhenium and Sulfur known to date!

As this is such a rare mineral, along with Tarkianite, and as the semi-famous Rhenium-bearing Molybdenite found in the Childs-Aldwinkle and Bou Azzer Mines is even more rare, approximately 80% of all Rhenium is instead extracted from porphyry molybdenum deposits, according to Wikipedia; some of which, contain as much as 0.001% to 0.2% Rhenium. Worldwide production of Rhenium is between 40-50 tons annually, with the big producers being Chile, the US, Peru, and Poland. 70% of the Rhenium produced annually is then used for jet engines, with the rest going to catalyzing reactions to produce gasoline, as an x-ray source or thermocouple when alloyed with Tungsten, as well as in mass spectrometers, and to treat cancer.

Rheniite was only just discovered in 2004 (in active hot fumaroles on the slopes of the very location from where this specimen was found), just after Tarkianite was found in Finland the year before. Next to minerals containing Rhodium and Hafnium, Rhenium-bearing minerals are the most difficult to acquire and are some of the most expensive rocks on the internet. Meanwhile, you can get nearly 100 grams of purified Rhenium for the same price from Luciteria!

As stated above, this comes from Russia, as does what seems to be most all other Rheniite specimens on the market so far, but there are just as many (if not more) localities outside of Russia, including two in Greece, one in Austria, one in Botswana, one in Brazil, and one in Ontario, Canada. While there haven’t yet been even a dozen discovered localities for Rheniite, it may still be in your area, and it’s ColoRockCo’s theory there’s some in Colorado waiting to be discovered, so be sure to keep an eye out for a shiny rock like this on your next hike!