STROMEYERITE

    Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
    Subclass : Sulfides
    Crystal system : Orthorhombic
    Chemistry : AgCuS
    Rarity : Uncommon

Stromeyerite is a relatively rare silver sulfide that forms in silver-copper hydrothermal deposits. It is consistently associated with copper and silver sulfides (chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, acanthite) as well as lead and zinc sulfides (sphalerite, galena). It was named in honor of Friedrich Stromeyer, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Göttingen who first studied the mineral. Stromeyerite is a usually massive mineral, steel-gray to bluish-blue in air, with a strong metallic luster. Pseudohexagonal prismatic crystals are very rare. It is a difficult mineral to identify with advanced analytical means. It is an accessory ore of copper and silver.

Main photo : Stromeyerite & hematite from Alexander Mine, Pribram, Czech Republic © Gianfranco Ciccolini

Stromeyerite in the World

Stromeyerite is present in small quantities in many American copper and silver deposits (Red Mountain Butte, Magma...), Canadian (Cobalt, Gowganda), Chilean (Chuquicamata, Tarapaca), Australian (But te) or again Namibian (Tsumeb).

Right photo : Stromeyerite from Clara Mine, Germany © Uwe Kolitsch


Stromeyerite in France

In France, stromeyerite is present in the lead - zinc - copper and silver vein of Croix-aux-Mines in the Vosges, in the mines of the Brioude sector (Ally, Aurouze, Paulhac), in the silver mines of Château-Lambert (Haute-Sâone), at Burc (Tarn) and at Sewen (Haut-Rhin).

Twinning

Twinning is common on {101}.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes listed for this mineral species.


Hardness : 2.5 to 3
Density : 6.2 to 6.3
Fracture : Sub-conchoidal
Streak : Gray

TP : Opaque
RI : -
Birefringence : -
Optical character : -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Hydrochloric acid

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None