| 43 Rows |
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 Acanthite
A very nice thumbnail cluster of acanthite (silver sulfide) from the San Juan de Rayas Mine, Guanajuato, Mexico. Thanks to Bob Keller at the Arizona Mineral Company for the specimen and the images!
Image copyrighted by the Arizona Mineral Company. Most of the tarnish on sterling silver is acanthite. | |
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 Acanthite
An old miniature of acanthite from (probably the Mizpah Mine), Tonopah, Nye County, Nevada. Most older specimens of acanthite were labeled argentite (as here) - argentite now only applies to silver sulfide above 170° C. Below that point argentite pseudomorphs into acanthite. Thanks to Margaret Lidstrom's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Acanthite
Another lustrous thumbnail cluster of acanthite from the Rayas Mine in Guanajuato, Mexico. Thanks to Darrell Merke's auction on eBay for the specimen and image! | |
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| Row 2 |
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 Aikinite
Aikinite's a rare bismuth lead copper sulfide - these two micromounts of aikinite and microscopic gold on quartz come from the type locality of the Berezovsk Mines, Ekaterinberg, Urals Region, Russia. It's from the O. Ivan Lee Collection and has a Burminco label. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and images! | |
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 Alabandite
Alabandite is manganese sulfide - this thumbnail of black alabandite in matrix comes from Hanshaw, Arizona. Thanks to David H. Garske's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Allemontite
A finely-crystallized glittery little thumbnail of allemontite from the type locality of the Les Chalanches Mine, Allemont, Isère, Rhône-Alpes, France. It's now considered to be stibarsen (SbAs) or stibarsen with either an excess of antimony or arsenic. Thanks to Emilie & Ron Kendig's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 3 |
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 Antimonpearceite
Antimonpearceite is a silver-copper antimonoarsenosulfide - it's the copper and antimony analog (forms a complete series with) of pearceite and forms an incomplete series with arsenpolybasite. This thumbnail of antimonpearceite on barite, formerly of the Joe Cilen Collection, is from the Clara Mine, near Wolfrath, Black Forest, Germany. Thanks to David H. Garske's (MINERALS and MORE) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Arsenopyrite
A small cabinet specimen of big, beautiful, classic arsenopyrite "tent" crystals from Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, Mexico. | |
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 Arsenopyrite
A miniature of arsenopyrite crystals on a pyrite and arsenopyrite matrix from Zacatecas, Mexico. Thanks to Dale Richards' auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 4 |
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 Arsenopyrite
Arsenopyrite shows an unusual habit (very elongated prisms) in this beautiful small cabinet piece from the Pachapaqui mining district, Peru. Thanks to Bob Hill's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Arsenopyrite
An excellent miniature cluster of arsenopyrite stellate twins from the Quiruvilca District, Santiago de Chuco Province, La Libertad Department, Peru. Thanks to Joseph & Catherine Morris' PhelansFinds auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Arsenopyrite
A single 1.8cm arsenopyrite crystal from the Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Province, Huanuco Department, Peru. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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| Row 5 |
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 Arsenopyrite,
var. Danaite
Cobaltiferous (up to 12%) arsenopyrite is called danaite - this sparkly thumbnail is from Burguillos del Cerro, Badajoz, Spain. It was part of the Erling Collection. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image! |
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 Aurostibite
A micromount of an aggregate of pinkish-silver aurostibite (gold diantimonide) on matrix from Krásná Hora, Príbram, Bohemia, Czech Republic. Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Benjaminite
A miniature of rare benjaminite (a bismuth lead silver copper sulfide) Bolivar Mine (Porvenir), Cerro Bonete, Sud Lipez, Bolivia. Ex: Jack Streeter Collection and Burminco label. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 6 |
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 Berthierite
Berthierite's another iron antimony sulfide - this miniature of a massively parallel bundle of fibers is from the Herja Mine, Baia Mare, Maramures County, Romania. Thanks to David H. Garske's (MINERALS and MORE) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Bismuthinite
A very nice thumbnail cluster of bismuthinite (bismuth sulfide, "bismuth glance") crystals from Hengyang, Hunan Province, China. The top of the speciemn has weathered to (probably) bismutite, bismuth oxycarbonate. Even though it's an important bismuth ore, most U.S. bismuth is obtained as a byproduct during refining of other ores. It forms incomplete series with guanajuatite, its selenide analog and with stibniteits antimony analog. Thanks to John Sobolewski's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Bonchevite
Bonchevite is a mixture of pekoite and galenobismutite. Depending on the reference book you consult, the formula can either be Pb3Bi2S6 or (Pb,Cu)3Bi11S18. This small-cabinet specimen comes from Narechen, Rhodope Mountains, Plovdiv District, Bulgaria. The silvery needles are named after Georgi Bonchev, the Bulgarian geologist. Thanks to Emil Stoyanov's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! |
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| Row 7 |
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 Bravoite
When pyrite has enough nickel (> 8%) in it, it becomes gray in color and is called bravoite, after the Brazilian geologist, J. J. Bravo. It's often considered to be a variety of pyrite. Thanks to Frank Yolton's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Calaverite and
Coloradoite
A nice miniature of copper-colored calaverite (gold ditelluride) (larger image, top row) and black coloradoite (mercury telluride) (larger image, bottom row) in matrix from the North Kalguri Mine, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Thanks to Jay Buscio's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Carrollite
A very nice thumbnail of carrollite (a cobalt copper nickel sulfide) from the Kolwezi Mine, Shaba Province, Congo. It's named after Carroll County, Maryland, its type locality. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image! | |
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| Row 8 |
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 Carrollite
Here's a single carrollite crystal with marked and outdented faces from the Kamoya Mine, Shaba Province, Congo. Thanks to Alessandro Genazzani's (ItalianMinerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! |
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 Carrollite
This one-inch carrollite crystal cluster on calcite with a blue-tarnished chalcopyrite is from the Kambove Mine, Shaba Province, Congo. Thanks to Don Bray's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! |
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 Carrollite
A shiny 1.8cm carrollite crystal nesting in an eroded 2.6cm tetrahedrite crystal on matrix from Katanga, Shaba Province, Congo. There's a few smaller carrollites snuggled in the small cabinet quartz matrix. Thanks to John Fasana's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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| Row 9 |
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 Cattierite
A vein of silvery cattierite (cobalt disulfide) runs vertically through this (probably cobaltite) miniature from Nord Mine, Finnshytteberg ore field, Värmland, Sweden. Cattierite forms two complete series; one with pyrite, its iron analog, and one with vaesite, its nickel analog. Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Chalcostibite
Chalcostibite's one of twenty (or so) ferroelectric ore minerals, a property which aids in the exploration for new ore deposits. It's copper antimony sulfide (almost twice as much antimony as copper) that weathers from its steel-gray color to coatings of azurite and malachite, as in this specimen from Coar-el-Harz, Morocco. It also forms an incomplete series witrh emplectite, its bismuth analog and is also called wolfsbergite, after the type locality in Germany. Thanks to Alessandro Genazzani's (ItalianMinerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 10 |
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 Cinnabar
A lightly frosted, twinned cinnabar cluster from China obtained through the The Virtual Show during the 2000 Tucson Show. | |
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 Cinnabar
This micromount has cinnabar and pyrite on siderite and comes from Giftberg, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen! |
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| Row 11 |
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 Cinnabar
A micromount of cinnabar with cuprite on dolomite from the Vogelhalt Mine, Schwarzleo, Leogang, Salzburg, Austria. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen! |
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 Cinnabar
Massive cinnabar in matrix from (probably the) San Bartolo Mine, Charcas, Mexico. This small cabinet piece has beautiful color! Thanks to Bill Awald's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 12 |
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 Cinnabar A large cinnabar crystal on dolomite thumbnail from China. Thanks to Chee Kiang Goh's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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 Cinnabar
Sparkly cinnabar crystals on matrix miniature from the Almaden (mercury) Mine, Almaden, Ciudad Real, Spain. Thanks to Jesus Claramunt's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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 Cinnabar
A pretty miniature of cinnabar with hematite and calcite from Erzberg, Styria, Austria. It has a Schortmann's MInerals tag. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 13 |
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 Cinnabar
on
Stibnite
A beautiful thumbnail of gemmy cinnabar crystals on stibnite from the Nikitovka Deposit, Gorlovka, Ukraine - it has a Trafford|Flynn tag. Thanks to Marvin Schwalb's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Cobaltite
This is an excellent (and rare!) thumbnail of cobaltite (a cobalt arsenosulfide) on gray dolomite from the Elizabeth Lake area (Foster Township) near Espanola, Ontario, Canada. The closeup shows the sharp casts of other cobaltites on the one cube face. Thanks to Darrel Merke's auction on eBay for the specimen! Thanks also to Reiner Mielke for the locale update! | |
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 Cobaltite
A sharp 5mm cobaltite crystal in massive cobaltite from thr Marrgruvan Mine, Håkansboda, Sweden. Ex: DeVito and Cisneros collections. Thanks to Justin Zzyzx's (ZzyzxMinerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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| Row 14 |
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 Corderoite
An excellent thumbnail of corderoite (mercury chlorosulfide) from the type locality of the Cordero Mine, Humbodlt County, Nevada. It forms a series with lavrentievite where bromine replaces some of the chlorine - if the bromine predominates, the mineral becomes arzakite. Corderoite is photosensitive so it should be kept in the dark. Thanks to John Sobolewski's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Cosalite
An esthetic miniature of cosalite (a bismuth lead sulfide) from the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine, Wells, British Columbia, Canada. The closeup shows some gold amongst the radial acicular cosalite. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen! | |
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 Cubanite
Cubanite is an iron copper sulfide named after its type locality of Cuba. This twin (the chevrons line up with the reentrant notch on top) is from the Henderson #2 Mine, Chibougamau, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to John Veevaert at Trinity Minerals for the specimen and the image! | |
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| Row 15 |
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 Cubanite
Cubanite crystals on matrix comprise this miniature also from the Henderson #2 Mine - most cubanite specimens are without matrix. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image! |
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 Duranusite
They're hard to see but there are tiny silvery metallic grains of duranusite (an arsenic subsulfide) in among the realgar and orpiment in this miniature from the type locality of Duranus, Alpes Maritimes, France. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Dyscrasite
A cute miniature of two dark-gray but sparkly dyscrasite (silver antimonide) clusters on matrix from the 1980 find at the type locality of the Wenzel Mine in the Black Forest of Germany. It forms an incomplete series with Allargentum, a variable silver-antimony "alloy". This specimen has been analyzed and found to contain 6% sulfur. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen! |
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| Row 16 |
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 Freibergite
A handsome small cabinet specimen of silvery-black freibergite (a silver copper iron sulfosalt) with azurite in a quartz-andesite breccia from (probably) the Cerro Colorado Mine, Pima County, Arizona. It forms two series; one with argentotennantite and one with tetrahedrite. Thanks to Roger McCaslin's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Galenobismutite
Some specimens I collect just because they're fascinating - this is one of them. There's fibrous galenobismutite (bismuth lead sulfide) snuggled in among the quartz (closeup, row2, right) and included in the fluorites (closeup, row2, left). A couple of the fluorites are totally colorless and transparent, though they all fluoresce bluish-purple under longwave UV. Most of the fibers are thinner than a human hair - some are much thinner (and still elastic)! There's also some arsenopyrite crystals (closeup, row3, left) and (closeup, row3, right). This small cabinet piece is from the Yaogangxian Mine in Yizhang, China. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image! Thanks also to Rob Woodside for the arsenopyrite identification! | |
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 Galenobismutite
Here's a thumbnail of galenobismutite on matrix from Gladhammar, Vastervik, Småland, Sweden. Thanks to Jon Gladwell's (Myrddin Emrys Limited) auction on eBay for the specimen and image! |
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| Row 17 |
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 Gersdorffite
A single gersdorffite (nickel arsenosulfide) octahedron from Dobschav, Czechoslovakia. It forms an incomplete series with jolliffeite, its arsenoselenide analog. Ex. James L. Moyer collection. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images! |
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 Getchellite
When antimony replaces half of the arsenic in orpiment it becomes getchellite. Bright vermilion crystals of getchellite (arsenic antimony sulfide) wander through the matrix of this miniature from Humboldt County in Nevada. It may be type locality material! Thanks to Wright's Rock Shop's table at the Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! |
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 Getchellite
A bright miniature of getchellite and orpiment from the type locality - the Getchell Mine, Humboldt County, Nevada. Thanks to Anthony Jones for the specimen! | |
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| Row 18 |
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 Greenockite
This is a cabinet specimen of greenockite (cadmium sulfide, the only true cadmium ore - most of the cadmium for industry is derived from other heavy metal ore refining) from the White River area in Rush, Marion County, Arkansas. The crystals occur as tiny clusters and stacked aggregates all over the matrix. Thanks to Eric Greene's (Treasure Mountain Mining) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Gudmundite
A miniature of charcoal-gray gudmundite in matrix from the Lac Nicolet antimony mine, South Ham, Wolfe County, Quebec, Canada. |
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| Row 19 |
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 Gustavite
Dark gray laths of gustavite, a bismuth lead silver sulfosalt, with chalcopyrite in matrix from the Rotgülden arsenic mine at Salzburg, Austria. It forms a series with lillianite where lead replaces the silver and some of the bismuth. Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Joséite
A thumbnail of dark-gray sparkly joséite (bismuth tellurosulfide) in matrix from Glacier Gulch, Smithers, British Columbia, Canada. Thanks to Jon Gladwell's (Myrddin Emrys Limited) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Kermesite
A small miniature cluster of kermesite (antimony oxysulfide) from near Jianshui, Yunnan Province, China. Kermesite is the intermediate between stibnite and stibiconite (fully oxidized stibnite). The larger image shows the red translucency of the backlit cluster. Thanks to Rob Lavinsky at The Arkenstone for the specimen and the images! |
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| Row 20 |
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 Kermesite
An excellent miniature of 2cm-long kermesite fibers from the type locality (according to some sources) of the Pezinok Mine in Slovakia. Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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 Laffittite
Scarlet microneedles (larger image, top right) of laffittite (a silver-mercury arsenosulfide) from the Getchell Mine, Humboldt County, Nevada. The larger image also shows a second thumbnail from the same locale. Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimens! |
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 Livingstonite
A miniature of massive livingstonite (a mercury antimony sulfide) from the Khaydarkan mercury mine, 70km S of Fergana, Kyrgyzstan (Russia). Thanks to the Fersman Mineralogical Institute's table at the 2003 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! |
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| Row 21 |
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 Löllingite
An old miniature of silvery löllingite (iron arsenide, the arsenic analog of pyrite) with unusual black willemite crystals on matrix from the Sterling Mine, Ogdensburg, New Jersey. It forms a series with safflorite, its cobalt analog. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen! |
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 Matildite
This matildite miniature (a silver-bismuth sulfide) goes by many other names: perulusite, peruvite, morocchite, and is from the type locality - the Matilda Mine, in the Morococha District, Yauli Province, Junin Department, Peru. It forms incomplete series with bohdanowiczite and volynskite, its selenide and telluride analogs respectively. Trigonal matildite is dimorphic with cubic schapbachite. Thanks to Irving Roth's (Roth International, Inc.) auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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 Melonite
Grains of silvery-gray melonite (nickel telluride) are disseminated throughout the drusy quartz matrix of this thumbnail from the type locality of the Melones Mine, Carson Hill, Calaveras County, California. It forms a series with merenskyite, where palladium (and often platinum) replaces the nickel. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 22 |
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 Miargyrite
A nice miniature of miargyrite (a silver antimony sulfide) clusters in matrix from the Hecla Rosebud Mine, Pershing County, Nevada. It has a Geoprime
Minerals label. Miargyrite is trimorphous with cuboargyrite and baumstarkite, though some authorities treat these as separate minerals. It's also similar in composition to pyrargyrite, but the silver content is about half (36%). Thanks to Alexander Falster's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Millerite
When found in sufficient quantites, millerite can be an important ore of nickel (65%). The specimens, like this miniature from the Thompson Open Pit Mine, Thompson, Manitoba, Canada, are known for their lush moss-like coatings of millerite. Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen and the image! | |
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| Row 23 |
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 Millerite
and Violarite
Sprays of millerite and violarite (an iron nickel sulfide) on a miniature matrix from the Goldstrike Mine, Post Pit, Eureka County, Nevada. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen! |
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 Millerite
Very fine millerite hairs in a half geode thumbnail from Hall's Gap, Lincoln County, Kentucky. Thanks to Melvane Scott's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Millerite
Almost all millerite occurs in an acicular habit. Here, in this pretty miniature from the Orford Nickel Mine, Sherbrooke County, Québec, Canada, the millerites are brassy tabular crystals on green grossular on a calcite matrix. Thanks to Val Collins' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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| Row 24 |
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 Molybdenite
A molybdenite (molybdenum sulfide) fan on quartz from North Queensland, Australia. Molybdenite is the major ore of molybdenum and purified molybdenum sulfide is a dry lubricant. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen! |
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 Molybdenite
with Epidote
Compacted molybdenite crystals with epidote comprise this old miniature from the famous Getchell Mine in Humboldt County,
Nevada. Thanks to Wayne Bloechl's (GeoJoe's) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Molybdenite
and Pyrite
Sprays of molybdenite on (and massive pyrite in) a quartz vein comprise this small cabinet specimen from northern California. Thanks to Wayne Bloechl's (GeoJoe's) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 25 |
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 Molybdenite
A beautiful thumbnail of stacked moly crystals on quartz from the famous Moly Hill Mine, Malartic, Abitibi County, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to C. Carter Rich's table at the 2001 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! Thanks also to Gilles Poulin for the locale update! | |
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 Molybdenite
Very nice chunks of massive molybdenite in milky quartz from Sonora, Mexico. The small cabinet specimen has a RedCliffe Minerals label. Thanks to Wayne Rudolph's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Molybdenite
Molybdenite often occurs as compacted and disseminated crystals in quartz as in these three miniatures from the Ojuela Mine, Mapimi, Durango, Mexico. Thanks to Juan Angel Tort-Figueroa of Torreon, Mexico, for the specimens! |
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| Row 26 |
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 Molybdenite
A beautiful moly crystal thumbnail also from Moly Hill, Quebec, Canada. Thanks to C. Carter Rich's table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! | |
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 Molybdenite
A museum piece of moly crystals in serpentine with calcite from the old Royal Green Marble quarry, Phillipsburg, Warren County, New Jersey. Ex: Alex Knoll Collection, 5/62. Thanks to Stuart Schneider's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Molybdenite
A beautiful cluster of moly stacks on quartz (miniature) from the Dalen molybdenium and copper mines, Dalen, Tokke, Telemark, Norway. Thanks to Jonas Bredberg's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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| Row 27 |
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 Nickeline
Nickeline (or niccolite) is nickel monoarsenide. The front surface of this small cabinet piece has been cut and polished - around the sides is a light green coating of annabergite, a nickel arsenate named after Annaberg in Saxony, Germany. The annabergite is a weathering product of the nickeline. It's from the Copper Pass Deposit at Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. Thanks to Amethyst Galleries, Inc. for the specimen and the image!
Image copyrighted by Amethyst Galleries, Inc. | |
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 Nickeline
A small cabinet specimen of tarnished nickeline and other sulfides on matrix from somewhere in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. Thanks to Jason Matthiessen' sauction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
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 Nickeline
A bright miniature of untarnished nickeline (and probably breithauptite, its antimonide analog) from Cobalt, Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Sue Silver's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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| Row |
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 Oregonite
Oregonite's an iron nickel arsenide - this waterworn pebble comes from the type locality, Josephine Creek, west of Kirby, Josephine County, Oregon. Thanks to Dan Weinrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen! | |
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 Orpiment
A small cabinet of beautiful long prisms of orpiment from the Shimen Realgar Mine, Shimen County, Hunan Province, China - the golden color is really intense when the light hits them right! | |
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 Orpiment
A beautiful thumbnail cluster of orpiment crystals from the famous Twin Creeks Mine near Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nevada. Thanks to H M & D Minerals' table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! | |
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| Row 28 |
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 Orpiment
Bright red botryoidal orpiment comprises this miniature from the El' Brusskiy Mine, North Caucasus, Russia. The closeup (larger image, bottom row, right) shows a thin layer of probable stibnite. Thanks to Wright's Rock Shop's table at the 2002 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! | |
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 Orpiment
A gorgeous large thumbnail of orpiment from the Quiruvilca Mine, Santiago de Chuco Province, La Libertad Department, Peru. Thanks to Brian Kosnar's (Mineral Classics) auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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 Pararammelsbergite
A fascinating, heavy, small cabinet specimen of pararammelsbergite (nickel diarsenide), skutterudite, and cobaltite in chert, probably from the type locality of the Canadian Keeley Mine, South Lorrain Twp, Timiskaming County, Ontario, Canada. One face has been sawn and polished to show the dendritic structure of the arsenides along with their weathering products, pink erythrite and green annabergite. The pararammelsbergite appears as elongated rectangles oriented (predominately) northwest-southeast (larger image , right). There also appears to be some wire silver. This specimen appears to be very similar to the one used for the structure re-analysis done in The Crystal Structure of Pararammelsbergite (NiAs2) in which the author also determined that the space group is Pbca instead of the more commonly reported Pbma. Ex: John L. Baum Collection. Pararammelsbergite is the (orthorhombic) low-temperature (590° C) polymorph of (orthorhombic) rammelsbergite and also a polymorph of cubic krutovite. Thanks to John Cianciulli's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 29 |
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 Pararealgar
A thumbnail of yellow pararealgar and black baumhauerite from the new (2003) and first (for the Franklin-Sterling Hill area) find at the Passaic Pit, Sterling Mine, Ogdensburg, New Jersey. Ex: Rumrill Collection. Thanks to John Cianciulli's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Patrónite
It may not look like much, but this chunk of drusy on massive patrónite (vanadium sulfide, also called rizopatrónite) is the main ore of vanadium. Different references give different formulas for patrónite; VS4, V2S5, or a mixed sulfide. It's named after Antenor Rizo Patrón, a Peruvian engineer. This thumbnail is from the type locality of the Ragra Mine, Junín, Cerro de Pasco, Pasco Department, Peru. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen! | |
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 Pekoite
Pekoite is a lead copper bismuth sulfoselenide - there's far more bismuth than either lead or copper so I've included it here. This piece is from the Falu Mine, Falun, Dalarna, Sweden. Thanks to Dan Weinrich at Dan & Jill Weinrich for the specimen and the image! |
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| Row 30 |
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 Pentlandite
in
Calcite
This miniature of pentlandite-included calcite comes from the Ropes Gold Mine, near Ishpeming, Marquette County, Michigan. The extreme closeup (larger image, bottom) shows a pentlandite on top of the calcite. Pentlandite, an iron-nickel sulfide, forms a series with cobaltpentlandite, where cobalt can replace both the iron and nickel. Thanks to Mike Basal's (From My Collection To Yours) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Perroudite
Perroudite's an odd and extremely rare mercury silver halogensulfide - it occurs here as tiny red needles on matrix. I don't know what the green mineral, but the micro is from the type locality of the Cap Garonne Mine, Côte d'Azur, Pradet, France. It forms an incomplete series with capgaronnite. Thanks to Chris Auer's (Eureka Micromounts) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Petzite
A thumbnail of petzite (a silver-gold telluride) crystals from the Cornucopia Mine (closed in 1941), 15 miles N of Halfway, Baker County, Oregon. Thanks to Jon Gladwell's (Myrddin Emrys Limited) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 31 |
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 Pierrotite
One of the few thallium-containing minerals, pierrotite (a thallium sulfosalt) occurs as grayish-black masses in this miniature from the type locality of Jas Roux, Hautes Alps, Côte d'Azur, France. Some references consider it to be dimorphous with parapierrotite. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen! | |
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 Polybasite
This thumbnail of polybasite, a silver antimony sulfide with about 12% copper, is from the Las Chispas Mine, Sonora, Mexico. It can be an ore of silver if available in large enough deposits. Polybasite's also one end of a series with pearceite, a silver arsenic sulfide - most specimens are somewhere in between. Thanks to Margaret's (Lidco) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Polydymite
Polydymite, a nickel (II,III) sulfide, occurs here as violet-gray lustrous crystals on a miniature matrix from Kipushi, Shaba, Republic of the Congo. It forms a series with linnaeite, its cobalt (II,III) analog. Siegenite is a possible midmember of the series. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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| Row 32 |
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 Proustite
A miniature of two small reddish-silver proustite (a silver arsenic sulfide) crystals (see closeup) with galena in dolomite from the famous Lengenbach Quarry, Binntal, Valais, Switzerland. It's dimorphous with xanthoconite and forms a series with pyrargyrite. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image! |
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 Proustite
A few tiny bright red proustite crystals highlight this miniature from the relatively new (for proustite) locale of the Imiter Mine in Morocco. Thanks to Keith Hayes' (KQ's Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Proustite
A wonderful old (1920s - see the antique German label, larger image, bottom) miniature with one bright! red proustite crystal from (probably) the Dolores I Mine, Chañarcillo, Atacáma Province, Chile. Thanks to Steve & Susan Bringe's (Summit Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 33 |
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 Pyragyrite
One of the two "ruby-silver" ores (the other is proustite), pyrargyrite (a silver antimony sulfide) is a marker for silver and is often used as a silver ore (60% silver). The large crystal has an iridescent tarnish but the millimeter-sized ones are a beautiful, almost transparent ruby red. This miniature is from the Uchucchacua Mine, Oyon Province, Lima Department, Peru. It's dimorphous with pyrostilpnite and forms a series with proustite. Thanks to Chris Korpi at Pangaea Minerals for the specimen! |
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 Pyrargyrite
Clusters of pyrargyrite comprise this miniature from the famous Hecla Rosebud Mine, Pershing County. Nevada. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the image! |
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 Pyrrhotite
Pyrrhotite's the other iron sulfide - also, the sulfur content is variable. This miniature, on quartz with calcite is from Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia. Thanks to Tom Hales' (Museum Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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| Row 34 |
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 Pyrrhotite
More pyrrhotite - this time as the matrix. There's a galena crystal, some sphalerites, and some quartz. Thanks to Martha Crawford's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Rambergite
Rambergite's the hexagonal dimorph of cubic alabandite - this small thumbnail of tiny brown rambergite crystals in microvugs (larger image, center) is from the type locality of Garpenberg-Norra, Dalarna, Sweden. There's also an unidentified metallic mineral present (larger image, bottom). Thanks to Ingo Drescher's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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| Row 35 |
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 Realgar
Collected in the 1940's from the finest locality (probably the Royal Reward Mine), King County, Washington) in North America (no wonder it's been worked out for years), this specimen has transparent red crystals of realgar on massive realgar. Thanks to Olympic Mountain Gems, Inc. for the specimen! | |
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 Realgar
An old thumbnail of realgar on matrix. |
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 Realgar
A beautiful miniature of realgar, quartz, and pyrite from the 2004 find at the Julcani Mine, Angaraes Province, Huancavelica Department, Peru. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the images! | |
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| Row 36 |
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 Realgar
A beautiful realgar druse on matrix (miniature) from the coal mine at St. Etienne, Loire, Rhône-Alpes, France. Thanks to Guillaumé Laurent's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images! | |
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 Rheniite
The only known ore of rhenium, rheniite (rhenium sulfide) occurs as tiny silvery crystals on matrix. This locale (Iturup Island, Kudriavy Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia) was one of two known sources for rheniite - the volcanic fumarole that brought it to the surface has since lowered in temperature so no new rheniite is being found. The rhenium metal and compounds used in industry (catalysts, filaments, contacts, and thermocouples) is obtained from molybdenite smelters. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Safflorite
Dark-gray balls of safflorite (cobalt iron sulfide) from the Schlema-Hartenstein District, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. Thanks to Christian Auer's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Safflorite, var.
Saflamorite
Saflamorite's the varietal name given to cobalt-poor safflorite and it occurs here as a brass-colored crystalline vein in this small-cabinet specimen from the Olafsen Iron Mine, Huffs Church, Hereford Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Thanks to Carrie Roberts' auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Sarabauite
Sarabauite's a rare calcium antimony oxysulfide - here, in this thumbnail from the type locality of the Sarabau Mine, Bau, Sarawak Province, Borneo, Malaysia, it occurs as deep red crystal masses on calcite. The larger image (lower right) shows some gray native arsenic. This material is often cabbed for jewelry. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen! | | |
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 Sarabauite
Still a one-locale mineral after 30+ years, this small-cabinet sarabauite occurs with stibnite and tan radiating parawollastonite (larger image, lower right)on calcite, from the Sarabau Mine. It has a Hewin's Minerals (Chartley, MA) tag. Thanks to Christopher O'Neill's auction on eBay for the specimen and the images!
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| Row 36 |
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 Siegenite
Siegenite's a rare nickel cobalt sulfide - this large thumbnail (with a dolomite matrix) is from the Sweetwater Mine, Reynolds County, Missouri. Thanks to Kevin Conroy's (Kevin Conroy Minerals) auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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 Skutterudite
Skutterudite is cobalt arsenide and an ore of cobalt (usually there's also enough nickel to be worth mining for that, too) and is named after Skutterud, Norway. It forms a complete series with nickel-skutterudite and a partial series with kieftite, its antimony analog. Rare-earth filled synthetic kieftite is the leading contender for high-efficiency thermoelectric materials - the skutterudite/kieftite structure comprises cobalt "cages" which contain one (unfilled) or two (filled) antimony quartets. Rare-eath elements (REEs) are introduced into the unfilled cages, thus creating a high electrically-conductive but low thermally-conductive (the REEs "rattle" in the cobalt cages, absorbing heat) material - the "ideal" thermoelectric. This extremely well-crystallized specimen is from the Tamdrost (Sandroste) cobalt/nickel mine near Bou Azzer, Morocco. Thanks to Rossano Carlini at E-Minerals for the specimen! | |
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| Row 37 |
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 Sperrylite
A micro of a sperrylite cube (0.4mm) with an even smaller partial gold crystal attached from the type locality of the Vermilion Mine, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Thanks to Jason Smith's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! | |
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 Stephanite
A thumbnail comprising a 7mm cluster of stephanite (another silver antimony sulfide) crystals on a massive stephanite / polybasite matrix from the Fresnillo Mine, Zacatecas, Mexico. It forms an incomplete series with selenostephanite, where selenium replaces part of the sulfur. Thanks to Mike Keim at Marin Minerals for the specimen and the image! |
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 Stephanite
A bright sparkly stephanite thumbnail from the Fresnillo Mine, Zacatecas, Mexico. Thanks to JBF Minerals' table at the 2004 Carnegie Gem & Mineral Show for the specimen! |
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| Row 38 |
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 Stephanite with
Pyrargyrite
A large thumbnail of stephanite, pyrargyrite, and pyrite also from the Fresnillo Mine. Most of what's visible is pyrargyrite. Ex: D. Jamriska collection (#2102). Thanks to Anthony Jones for the specimen! |
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 Stibnite
Stibnite is the primary ore of antimony (72%). Stibnite itself was used as a cosmetic (eye-liner) by the ancient Egyptians. It's dimorphic with metastibnite. |
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 Stibnite
A bright lustrous stibnite from the Hunan Province of China, with a calcite coating on the back and one doubly-terminated nailhead calcite (larger picture, bottom). Thanks to Greg Holland at the Stone Haven Mineral Shoppe for the specimen! | |
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| Row 39 |
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 Stibnite
This is a beautiful cluster of stibnite, ciinnabar, and quartz from the Nikitovka Deposit, Gorlovka, Ukraine. Thanks to Dave Hayward at Lucky Strike Minerals for the specimen and the image! |
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 Stibnite
A sparkly thumbnail of tiny stibnite crystals from the Post Pit, Carlin Gold mine, Elko, Eureka County, Nevada. Thanks to Rory Howell's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Stibnite
An odd stibnite miniature from Piedmont, Italy - dozens of stibnite crystals scattered on (probable) drusy calcite. The larger image (lower right) shows an excellent example of stibnite's "gliding planes" - the crystal running WNW to ESE is bent into the shape of a shallow "U". Thanks to Vince's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 40 |
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 Stibnite
This stibnite miniature from Baia Sprie, Romania shows the typically flattened bladed habit from there. Thanks to Charles Creekmur's auction on eBay for the specimen! | |
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 Stibnite
A miniature of essentially massive stibnite (the crystals are highly compacted) from the Stayton Mine, San Benito County, California. Thanks to Jay Buscio's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 40 |
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 Stromeyerite
A thumbnail of massive bluish-gray stromeyerite (silver-copper sulfide) from the Yellow Pine Mine near Crisman, Boulder County, Colorado. Thanks to Tony Nikischer at the Excalibur Mineral Company for the specimen! |
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 Sylvanite
A thumbnail of sylvanite (gold-silver telluride) flakes (see closeup) in matrix from Victor, Cripple Creek District, Teller County, Colorado - this piece was collected back in the 1930s from either the Ajax or Portland Mine. It forms an incomplete series with kostovite where copper replaces the silver. Thanks to David Emslie's (Prospector's Gold & Gems) auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Tetradymite
A thumbnail of tetradymite (a bismuth sulfotelluride) on biotite from (probably the El Criollo Mine), Cerro Blanco, Tanti, Punilla Department, Cordoba Province, Argentina. The closeup (larger image) shows an unidentified group of minerals on the specimen. Thanks to Eduardo Jawerbaum's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 41 |
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 Tiemannite
A very nice miniature comprising metallic gray tiemannite (mercury selenide), (larger image, top right), black metacinnabar (mercury sulfide, with which it forms an incomplete series), (larger image, bottom left), and micro tan calcites (larger image, bottom right) from the Lucky Boy Mine, Mount Baldy District, Piute County, Utah. Thanks to Anthony Jones' auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Tochilinite
A small cabinet specimen comprising a layer of rare tochilinite (an iron magnesium hydroxylsulfide) crystal aggregates on a limestone matrix from Otamo, Siikainen, Finland - one of the very few places where it's found. Tochilinite's also one of the few minerals with a cylindrical habit. Most interesting of all is the fact that tochilinite occurs as rim coatings on calcite grains in chondrite meteorites - the exact process of occurence is still under study. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Troilite
The Alta Mine in Del Norte County, California is one of the very few localities for terrestrial troilite, iron(II) sulfide - this large thumbnail of massive heavily-tarnished troilite is from there (occuring as amygdaloidal masses in serpentine). As with a lot of minerals that tarnish, troilite tarnishes preferentially on certain crystal faces or orientations (the brighter bronzy areas). The vast majority of troilite is found in meteorites. The yellow mineral at the top of the larger image (right) is probably one of the many iron sulfate weathering products. Troilite forms an incomplete series with mackinawite, where nickel replaces some of the iron and there's slightly less sulfur than would be expected. Some references consider it to be a variety (or a polytype) of pyrrhotite. Troilite is not magnetic - there are no vacancies in its structure. Thanks to Jay Buscio's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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| Row 42 |
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 Ullmannite
An old! (Michigan Mining School label, 1885 - 1897; now Michigan Technological University) miniature of massive ullmannite (nickel sulfantimonide) from somewhere in the Siegen District, Westphalia, Germany. It forms a series with willyamite where cobalt replaces some of the nickel. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen and the image! |
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 Valleriite
Valleriite's in the same group as tochilinite - it's an iron copper hydroxylsulfide. This miniature of bronze valleriite on matrix is from the Palabora Open Pit Mine located at Phalaborwa, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa. Thanks to Thomas Bee's auction on eBay for the specimen! |
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 Wakabayashilite
An excellent miniature of orange wakabayashilite (a mixed arsenic antimony sulfide) on matrix from the Khaidarkan antimony-mercury deposit, Alai Range, Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to Tom & Vicki Loomis at Dakota Matrix Minerals for the specimen and the images! |
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| Row 43 |
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 Wittichenite
A micro of steel-gray massive wittichenite (a copper bismuth sulfide) in matrix from the type locality of Wittichen, Schenkenzell, Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It may form a series with skinnerite, where antimony replaces the bismuth. Thanks to Paolo Bracci's auction on eBay for the specimen and the photo! | |
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