Mineralogy
Extractive metallurgy of bismuth

The most widespread mineral species of bismuth are native bismuth, bismuthinite or bismuthine, its natural sulfide, bismite, its anhydrous oxide, and bismutite, the hydrated oxy-carbonate. These mineral species often contain traces of :

• S, Te, As, Sb, for native bismuth ;

• Pb, Cu or Fe, rarely Te and Se, for bismuthinite ;

• Pb, Cu, Fe, Ca for bismutite ;

• Pb, Cu, Fe for bismite.

There are also more complex mineral species: multiple sulfides of Cu, Pb and Bi, bismuth sulfides (where S is replaced by Te or Se), bismuth tellurides and tellurates, and complex oxides of Bi, Ta and Nb (table 2).