Sulfide minerals

Abstract

Because sulfur is relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust and mantle and can exist in multiple valence states in many geochemical domains, sulfide minerals have been a cornerstone of several important geochemical processes. They are the products of the anaerobic respiration utilized by some of the earliest life forms on Earth (sulfate reducing prokaryotes), which persist today in anoxic subaqueous environments. They are part of the global sulfur cycle, which transfers sulfur from the surface through subduction zones into the deep Earth and back through volcanoes. And, they are the hosts to many of our most important metal resources.