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Freibergite



Freibergite
CategoryMineral: sulfosalt
Chemical formulaCu12Sb4S13
Identification
Molecular Weight1,929.46 gm
ColorSteel gray to Black
Crystal habitmassive to well formed crystals
Crystal systemCubic
CleavageNone
FractureUneven
Mohs Scale hardness3½ - 4
LusterMetallic
Streakreddish black
DiaphaneityOpaque

Freibergite is a complex sulfosalt mineral of silver, copper, iron, antimony and arsenic with formula (Ag,Cu,Fe)12(Sb,As)4S13. It has cubic crystals and is formed in hydrothermal deposits. It forms one solid solution series with tetrahedrite and another with argentotennantite. Freibergite is an opaque, metallic steel grey to black and leaves a reddish black streak. It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4.0 and a specific gravity of 4.85 - 5. It is typically massive to granular in habit with no cleavage and an irregular fracture.

The mineral was first described in 1853 from an occurrence in the silver mines of the type locality at Freiberg, Saxony.

References

  • Mineral handbook
  • Webmineral
  • Mindat
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Freibergite". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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