Sulfate mineral

The sulfate minerals are a class of minerals that include the sulfate ion (SO2−
4
) within their structure. The sulfate minerals occur commonly in primary evaporite depositional environments, as gangue minerals in hydrothermal veins and as secondary minerals in the oxidizing zone of sulfide mineral deposits. The chromate and manganate minerals have a similar structure and are often included with the sulfates in mineral classification systems.[1]

Anhydrite crystal structure
Barite with cerussite

Sulfate minerals include:

  1. ^ Klein, Cornelis and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 347–354 ISBN 0-471-80580-7.