Name:

enargite

A photo of the mineral enargite

Class:

Sulfides

Chemistry:

Cu3AsS4 Copper Arsenic Sulfide

Color(s):

steel gray, dark green, to iron black, metallic

Hardness:

3 - 3.5

SpecGrav:

4.4 - 4.5

Fracture:

uneven

Cleavage:

complete

Crystal:

Orthorhombic (often prismatic, usually vertically striped) sometimes tabular and often twinned

Envronment:

forms in hydrothermal replacement deposits

Association:

pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, bornite, chalcosite,

Locals:

Montana, Utah, USA | Chile | Philippines | Germany | Hungary | Peru | Namibia |

Misc:

The name comes from the Greek "enargos", meaning "distinct" from its nearly perfect prismatic cleavage. Soluble in nitric acid and aqua regia.

Photos
& Locals:

1.) The Pit Butte, Montana
2.) The Pit Butte, Montana

3.) The Pit Butte, Montana

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