Imiterite - Encyclopedia
Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
Subclass : Sulfides
Crystal system : Monoclinic
Chemistry : Ag2HgS2
Rarity : Very rare
Imiterite is a rare mercury and silver sulfide which was discovered in the early 1980's in the Imiter deposit, in the Jebel Sarho Massif (Morocco), a deposit which also gave it its name. This locality, famous for its spectacular native silver plates, is made up of a network of sulphide stringers cutting formations of Precambrian age. Pyrite is dominant there, accompanied by numerous sulphides including abundant silver sulfides : acanthite, polybasite. Imitite appears in xenomorphic areas reaching 1 mm and more rarely in extremely fine crystals reaching 3 mm of a light gray to dark gray color sometimes associated with cinnabar.
Main photo : Imiterite of Imiter, Tinghir Cercle, Drâa-Tafilalet Region, Morocco © Christian Rewitzer
Imiterite in the World
Twinning
V-shaped and cyclic star twins are known.
Fakes and treatments
No fakes recorded for this mineral species.
Hardness : 2.5 to 3
Density : 7.84
Fracture : Undeterminated
Streak : Undeterminated
TP : Opaque
RI : -
Birefringence : -
Optical character : -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None
Solubility : -
Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None