Arsenopyrite and Sphalerite
| ID | 312 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mineral |
Arsenopyrite
Sphalerite |
|
| Location | Minas Panasqueira - Portalegre - Portugal | |
| Fluorescence | LW-UV: close SW-UV: close |
|
| Mindat.org |
View Arsenopyrite information at mindat.org View Sphalerite information at mindat.org |
|
Mindat data
| ID | 305 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:305:8 |
| Formula |
FeAsS
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Other Occurrences | High-temperature gold-quartz or tin hydrothermal veins, pegmatites, contact metamorphic rocks, gneisses, schists. |
| Discovery Year | 1847 |
| Diapheny | Opaque |
| Cleavage | Distinct on {001}; {010} in traces |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Silver-white to steel-gray, may have a slight yellow appearance |
| Hardness (min) | 5.5 |
| Hardness (max) | 6.0 |
| Luminescence | None |
| Lustre | Metallic. |
| About the name | Named in 1847 by Ernst Friedrich Glocker for its composition, a contraction of the antiquated term "arsenical pyrite." Arsenopyrite was known much before 1847 and arsenopyrite, as a name, may be taken as a simple translation of "arsenkies". |
| Streak | Gray-black |
| Crystal System | Monoclinic |
| Cleavage Type | Distinct/Good |
| Fracture type | Irregular/Uneven |
| Morphology | Flat tabular to blocky (sometimes pseudo-octahedral) to prismatic. |
| Twinning | Common on {100} and {001}. Contact or penetration on {101}, on {012} trillings or cruciform. |
| UV | Not fluorescent |
| key_elements |
0 |
| shortcode_ima | Apy |
| Group | Arsenopyrite Group |
| ID | 3727 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:3727:9 |
| Formula |
ZnS
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Discovery Year | 1847 |
| Diapheny | Transparent,Translucent |
| Cleavage | Perfect {011} |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Yellow, light to dark brown, black, red-brown, colourless, light blue. green |
| Hardness (min) | 3.5 |
| Hardness (max) | 4.0 |
| Luminescence | Fluorescent and triboluminescent |
| Lustre | Resinous |
| About the name | Originally called blende in 1546 by Georgius Agricola (Georg Bauer). Known by a variety of chemical-based names subsequent to Agricola and before Glocker, including "zincum". Named Sphalerite in 1847 by Ernst Friedrich Glocker from the Greek σφαλεροζ "sphaleros" = treacherous, in allusion to the ease with which dark varieties were mistaken for galena, but yielded no lead. |
| Streak | Pale yellow to brown. |
| Crystal System | Isometric |
| Cleavage Type | Perfect |
| Fracture type | Conchoidal |
| Twinning | {111} |
| UV | Light colored sphalerite may fluoresce in blue or orange in LW. Fluoresces less strongly, sometimes not at all, in SW or MW. |
| key_elements |
0 |
| shortcode_ima | Sp |
| Group | Sphalerite Group |
Details
Price: € 20
Dimensions: Not registered
Weight: 316 g
Visibile in overview:
Notes:
| Symbol | Element | |
|---|---|---|
| As | Arsenic |
|
| Fe | Iron | |
| S | Sulfur | |
| Zn | Zinc |

