Mineral Many sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores; examples include sphalerite (ZnS), an ore of zinc, galena (PbS), an ore of lead, cinnabar (HgS), an ore of mercury, and molybdenite (MoS, an ore of molybdenum. Pyrite (FeS), is the most commonly occurring sulfide, and can be found in most geological environments. It is not, however, an ore of iron, but can be instead oxidized to produce sulfuric acid. Related to the sulfides are the rare sulfosalts, in which a metallic element is bonded to sulfur and a semimetal such as antimony, arsenic, or bismuth. Like the sulfides, sulfosalts are
Schlangenberg Nature Reserve the interest in the ore which was mostly used for weapons and vessels. The greatest interest in calamine had been in the 18th century when brass manufactures settled in Stolberg (Rhineland). For the production of the alloy they needed large amounts of calamine which was melted together with copper. Before 1800 digging small reaching only surface based ore was the only technique available to the miners. In the 19th century mining changed and more than 20 adits enabled the workers to reach calamine up to 105 m below the surface. During this time the Schlangenberg-area was perforated like a Swiss