THE
MINERAL MIARGYRITE
- Chemistry: AgSbS2, Silver Antimony Sulfide
- Class: Sulfides
- Subclass: Sulfosalts
- Uses: Mineral specimens and as a minor ore of silver.
- Specimens
Miargyrite is a another interesting silver sulfide mineral that is popular
with collectors who love to collect silver bearing minerals.
Other silver sulfide minerals include
stephanite,
pyrargyrite,
polybasite,
proustite,
argyrodite,
andorite
and acanthite among many others.
It is easy to confuse miargyrite with
some of these other minerals, but its crystal habit and unusual streak
will generally suffice to differentiate it.
Miargyrite is a sulfosalt, a segment of sulfides where the antimony acts more like a
metal than a non-metal and occupies a position where it is bonded to sulfurs.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
- Color is iron black to steel gray.
- Luster is metallic.
- Transparency: Crystals are opaque.
- Crystal System: Monoclinic; 2/m.
- Crystal Habits include complex crystals with a tabular character
and massive.
- Cleavage: Not discernible.
- Fracture: Conchoidal.
- Hardness is 2 - 2.5
- Specific Gravity is 5.1 - 5.3 (somewhat heavier than average
for metallic minerals)
- Streak is cherry-red.
- Other Characteristics: Specimens will darken with exposure to
light.
- Associated Minerals include
pyrargyrite,
polybasite,
proustite,
galena,
chalcopyrite and
acanthite.
- Notable Occurrences include Saxony and the Harz Mountains of
Germany; Pribram, Czech Republic; San Juan, Colorado; Silver City, Idaho;
Cerbat Mountains, Arizona and California, USA; Romania; Chile and Bolivia.
- Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, streak, softness, color
and luster.