Argentite - Encyclopedia

    Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
    Subclass : Sulfides
    Crystal System : Cubic
    Chemistry : Ag₂S
    Rarity : Uncommon

Argentite is a fairly rare silver ore from hydrothermal lead-zinc-silver and gold veins, mainly occurring in their cementation zone. It is associated with pyrite, sphalerite, galena, its dimorph acanthite, and many other silver minerals (polybasite, pyrargyrite, tetrahedrite); it is also a mineral accompanying gold in the epithermal veins, metalliferous emanations from volcanic activity. Its name comes from the Latin argentum, in reference to its chemical composition. Stable at high temperature, argentite transforms into acanthite below 179°C, a mineral with the same chemical formula which also borrows its forms : massive, tree-like, sometimes in cubo-octahedral crystals. It is a lead-grey mineral which quickly tarnishes black in air, characterized like many silver sulphides by a high specific gravity (7.2) and a low hardness of just over 2.

Argentite may show polysynthetic twins on (111), but these are not visible to the naked eye.

No fake or treatments identified for this mineral species.