Stibnite and Pyrite

ID	531
Mineral	Stibnite Pyrite
Location	Tuscany - Italy
Fluorescence	LW-UV: close SW-UV: close
Mindat.org	View Stibnite information at mindat.org View Pyrite information at mindat.org

ID	3782
Long ID	1:1:3782:8
Formula	`Sb₂S₃`
IMA Status	0 1
Diapheny	Opaque
Cleavage	Perfect on {010}, imperfect on {100}{110}
Tenacity	flexible
Colour	Lead-gray with pale blue tint
Hardness (min)	2.0
Hardness (max)	2.0
About the name	Renamed in 1832 by François Sulpice Beudant. According to Dioscorides, the original Greek names for the mineral were Στιβι "stibi", Στιμμι "stimmi", and Πλατνόπθαλμου. The former name became the Latin "stibium" and the old name for the element antimony (Sb). Named spiessglas in 1430 by Basil Valentine who showed the mineral contained sulphur. Also known as antimony glance, antimonite, and stibine.
Streak	Lead grey
Crystal System	Orthorhombic
Cleavage Type	Perfect
Fracture type	Sub-Conchoidal
Morphology	Slender to stout crystals
Twinning	Rare {130}{120}{310}
Thermal Behaviour	Melts at 546°C. Fuses very easily, at 1, coloring the flame greenish blue. Heated in an open tube gives sulphurous and antimonial fumes. The latter condenses as a white sublimate.
key_elements	0
shortcode_ima	Sbn
Group	Stibnite Group

ID	3314
Long ID	1:1:3314:1
Formula	`FeS₂`
IMA Status	0 1
Other Occurrences	Common in many rock types, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.
Diapheny	Opaque
Cleavage	Indistinct on {001}.
Tenacity	brittle
Colour	Pale brass-yellow
Hardness (min)	6.0
Hardness (max)	6.5
About the name	Named in antiquity from the Greek "pyr" for "fire", because sparks flew from it when struck with another mineral or metal. Known to Dioscorides (~50 CE) under the name "περι υληζ ιατρικηζ" which included both pyrite and chalcopyrite.
Streak	Greenish-black
Crystal System	Isometric
Cleavage Type	Poor/Indistinct
Fracture type	Irregular/Uneven,Conchoidal
Morphology	Typically cubic or pyritohedral (pentagonal dodecahedral), sometimes octahedral and combinations are common, resulting in striated faces. Less frequently octahedral, most commonly massive, granular, and sometimes radiating, reniform, discoidal or globular.
Twinning	On [110], interpenetrating ('Iron Cross Law'). Twin axis [001] and twin plane {011}, penetration and contact twins. Twinning on (111) was described by Nicol (1904), Goldschmidt and Nicol (1904) and Gaubert (1928), all of whom considered it rare.
UV	Not fluorescent in UV
Thermal Behaviour	Heated in a closed tube gives a sublimate of sulfur and a magnetic residue.
shortcode_ima	Py
Group	Pyrite Group

Price: € 15

Dimensions: Not registered

Weight: Not registered

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