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The mineralogy of Selenium

General Properties
Symbol:Se
Atomic Number:34
Standard atomic weight (Ar):78.96(3)
Electron configuration:[Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p4
Photos
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SELENIUM - VERY SULTRY
>
Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):2.55
Atomic Radius:103 pm
Ionic Radius:198 pm (-2)
Van der Waals Radius:190 pm
1st Ionization energy:941 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:-195 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:-2,2,4,6
Physical Properties
Standard State:solid
Bonding Type:metallic
Melting Point:494 K
Boiling Point:958 K
Density:4.82 g/cm3
Metal/Non-Metal:nonmetal
Main isotopes of Selenium
Isotope% in NatureHalf LifeDecay typeDecay product
72Sesynthetic8.4dε
74Se0.87%-β+β+ ?74Ge
75Sesynthetic119.779dε75As
76Se9.36%stable
77Se7.63%stable
78Se23.78%stable
79Setrace3.27×105yβ−79Br
Main ions of Selenium
NameIonExample minerals
selenideSe2-Clausthalite, Klockmannite
diselenide[Se2]2-Ferroselite, Dzharkenite
selenite[SeO3]2-Chalcomenite, Molybdomenite, Alfredopetrovite
selenate[SeO4]2-Schmiederite, Carlosruizite
Other Information
Year Discovered:1817
Discovered By:
06064690017362062967046.jpg
Jöns Jakob Berzelius
01730630017362062064072.jpg
Johan Gottlieb Gahn


Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Johann Gottlieb Gahn
Year Isolated:1817
Isolated By:Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Johann Gottlieb Gahn
Named For:
09351580017362062967317.jpg
Selene, Greek goddess of the moon
CPK color coding:#FFA100
External Links:WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com
Simple Compounds and Mineral Names
Nitridestetraselenium tetranitrideSe4N4+3
Sulfidesdiselenium hexasulphideSe2S6+6
tetraselenium tetrasulphideSe4S4+2
Fluoridesselenium difluorideSeF2+2
diselenium difluorideFSeSeF+2,+4
selenium difluoride selenideSeSeF2+2,+4
selenium hexafluorideSeF6+6
selenium tetrafluorideSeF4+4
Chloridesselenium dichlorideSeCl2+2
diselenium dichlorideSe2Cl2+1
tetraselenium hexadecachloride[SeCl4]4+4
Bromidesselenium dibromideSeBr2+2
diselenium dibromideSe2Br2+1
teteaselenium hexadecabromide[SeBr4]4+4
Oxidesselenium dioxideSeO2+4Downeyite
selenium trioxideSeO3+6
Mineral Diversity of Selenium
1. Elements 1 valid mineral species
2. Sulfides And Sulfosalts 105 valid mineral species
4. Oxides 39 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates 12 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates1 valid mineral species
Total:158 valid species containing essential Selenium
Minerals with the greatest weight % of Selenium
Native SeleniumSe100.00 %
DzharkeniteFeSe273.88 %
FerroseliteFeSe273.88 %
Penroseite(Ni,Co,Cu)Se272.90 %
KulleruditeNiSe272.90 %
TrogtaliteCoSe272.82 %
BambollaiteCu(Se,Te)271.31 %
PetříčekiteCuSe271.31 %
KruťaiteCuSe271.31 %
DowneyiteSeO271.16 %
Geochemistry of Selenium
Goldschmidt classification:Chalcophile
Se6+ is essential to nutrition of at least some vertebrates ('essential minerals').
Se4+ is essential to nutrition of at least some vertebrates ('essential minerals').
Se2- forms minerals with Cu+.
Se2- forms minerals with Ag+.
Elemental Abundance for Selenium
Crust (CRC Handbook)5 x 10-8mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)5 x 10-8mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)5 x 10-8mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)5 x 10-8mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Wänke)1.53 x 10-7mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)5 x 10-8mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)2 x 10-10mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)9.0 x 10-11mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)6.3 x 10-5atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)6.21 x 10-5 (6.4%)atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)
Element association of Selenium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Selenium 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 Selenium and the element listed for that row.

The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Selenium.

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.
ElementValid Minerals listed with element and Selenium% of Se mineralsRelative to % in all minerals
Copper77 minerals with Se and Cu46.67%244.61% higher
Oxygen52 minerals with Se and O31.52%61.07% lower
Lead38 minerals with Se and Pb23.03%113.86% higher
Bismuth34 minerals with Se and Bi20.61%394.39% higher
Hydrogen33 minerals with Se and H20.00%64.19% lower
Sulfur22 minerals with Se and S13.33%39.64% lower
Chlorine16 minerals with Se and Cl9.70%30.83% higher
Silver16 minerals with Se and Ag9.70%148.10% higher
Tellurium15 minerals with Se and Te9.09%158.32% higher
Antimony14 minerals with Se and Sb8.48%49.05% higher
Nickel12 minerals with Se and Ni7.27%113.54% higher
Palladium12 minerals with Se and Pd7.27%415.44% higher
Iron10 minerals with Se and Fe6.06%73.04% lower
Mercury10 minerals with Se and Hg6.06%236.66% higher
Uranium10 minerals with Se and U6.06%18.26% higher
Arsenic8 minerals with Se and As4.85%62.54% lower
Zinc6 minerals with Se and Zn3.64%35.75% lower
Potassium6 minerals with Se and K3.64%63.42% lower
Cobalt6 minerals with Se and Co3.64%195.02% higher
Sodium5 minerals with Se and Na3.03%83.88% lower
Gold5 minerals with Se and Au3.03%334.53% higher
Aluminium4 minerals with Se and Al2.42%87.90% lower
Calcium4 minerals with Se and Ca2.42%90.30% lower
Platinum4 minerals with Se and Pt2.42%211.41% higher
Cadmium3 minerals with Se and Cd1.82%229.73% higher
Thallium3 minerals with Se and Tl1.82%21.86% higher
Magnesium2 minerals with Se and Mg1.21%90.95% lower
Tin2 minerals with Se and Sn1.21%33.86% lower
Silicon1 mineral with Se and Si0.61%97.81% lower
Vanadium1 mineral with Se and V0.61%87.42% lower
Carbon1 mineral with Se and C0.61%92.54% lower
Nitrogen1 mineral with Se and N0.61%76.35% lower
Fluorine1 mineral with Se and F0.61%92.36% lower
Chromium1 mineral with Se and Cr0.61%66.93% lower
Molybdenum1 mineral with Se and Mo0.61%60.66% lower
Ruthenium1 mineral with Se and Ru0.61%149.13% higher
Rhodium1 mineral with Se and Rh0.61%49.48% higher
Iodine1 mineral with Se and I0.61%16.78% higher
Barium1 mineral with Se and Ba0.61%87.02% lower
Periodic Table
1H 2He
3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10Ne
11Na 12Mg 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
19K 20Ca 21Sc 22Ti 23V 24Cr 25Mn 26Fe 27Co 28Ni 29Cu 30Zn 31Ga 32Ge 33As 34Se 35Br 36Kr
37Rb 38Sr 39Y 40Zr 41Nb 42Mo 43Tc 44Ru 45Rh 46Pd 47Ag 48Cd 49In 50Sn 51Sb 52Te 53I 54Xe
55Cs 56Ba 57La 72Hf 73Ta 74W 75Re 76Os 77Ir 78Pt 79Au 80Hg 81Tl 82Pb 83Bi 84Po 85At 86Rn
87Fr 88Ra 89Ac 104Rd 105Db 106Sg 107Bh 108Hs 109Mt 110Ds 111Rg 112Cn 113Nh 114Fl 115Mc 116Lv 117Ts 118Og
 
58Ce 59Pr 60Nd 61Pm 62Sm 63Eu 64Gd 65Tb 66Dy 67Ho 68Er 69Tm 70Yb 71Lu
90Th 91Pa 92U 93Np 94Pu 95Am 96Cm 97Bk 98Cf 99Es 100Fm 101Md 102No 103Lr
Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Se Relative Frequency
Arsenic << Selenium >> Bromine


Most widespread minerals containing Selenium
This list of minerals containing Selenium 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 Selenium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.
NameFormulaCrystal SystemMindat Localities
ClausthalitePbSeIsometric415
NaumanniteAg2SeOrthorhombic295
Native SeleniumSeTrigonal181
AguilariteAg4SeSMonoclinic133
TiemanniteHgSeIsometric113
BerzelianiteCu2-xSe (x ≈ 0.12)Isometric86
UmangiteCu3Se2Tetragonal86
KlockmanniteCuSeHexagonal77
FerroseliteFeSe2Orthorhombic70
EucairiteAgCuSeOrthorhombic65
Photos
08340380017271922123586.jpg
Clausthalite, etc.

Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mountains, Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, Tanzania
06284110017271925368299.jpg
Naumannite

Virgen de Surumi mine, Pakajake Canyon, Colquechaca Municipality, Chayanta Province, Potosí, Bolivia
00891110017486013169817.jpg
Native Selenium

Lichtenberg Absetzer dump, Kauern, Greiz District, Thuringia, Germany
04055750017271920756457.jpg
Aguilarite

San Carlos Mine, La Luz, Guanajuato Municipality, Guanajuato, Mexico
04977590017362062976621.jpg
Clausthalite, etc.

Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mountains, Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, Tanzania
08386210017362062971908.jpg
Naumannite

Virgen de Surumi mine, Pakajake Canyon, Colquechaca Municipality, Chayanta Province, Potosí, Bolivia
03044870017486013147282.jpg
Native Selenium

Lichtenberg Absetzer dump, Kauern, Greiz District, Thuringia, Germany
03926850017362062984014.jpg
Aguilarite

San Carlos Mine, La Luz, Guanajuato Municipality, Guanajuato, Mexico
08340380017271922123586.jpg
Clausthalite, etc.

Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mountains, Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, Tanzania
06284110017271925368299.jpg
Naumannite

Virgen de Surumi mine, Pakajake Canyon, Colquechaca Municipality, Chayanta Province, Potosí, Bolivia
07510160017486074796874.jpg
Native Selenium

Lichtenberg Absetzer dump, Kauern, Greiz District, Thuringia, Germany
04055750017271920756457.jpg
Aguilarite

San Carlos Mine, La Luz, Guanajuato Municipality, Guanajuato, Mexico

Localities with greatest number of different Selenium mineral species
1El Dragón mine, Porco Municipality, Antonio Quijarro Province, Potosí, Bolivia34 Se minerals
2Příbram District, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic26 Se minerals
3Předbořice deposit, Předbořice, Kovářov, Písek District, South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic24 Se minerals
4Zálesí uranium deposit, Zálesí, Javorník, Jeseník District, Olomouc Region, Czech Republic24 Se minerals
5Tumiñico Mine, Sierra de Cacho, Villa Castelli, General Lamadrid Department, La Rioja Province, Argentina22 Se minerals
6Bukov Mine, Rožná deposit, Rožná, Žďár nad Sázavou District, Vysočina Region, Czech Republic19 Se minerals
7Alberoda, Aue-Bad Schlema, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany19 Se minerals
Cacheuta Mine, Cerro de Cacheuta, Sierra de Cacheuta, Cacheuta District, Luján de Cuyo department, Mendoza Province, Argentina18 Se minerals
 
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To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
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