Proustite
Encyclopedia
Proustite is a sulfosalt
mineral
consisting of silver
sulfarsenide, Ag3As
S
3, known also as light red silver or ruby silver ore, and an important source of the metal. It is closely allied to the corresponding sulfantimonide, pyrargyrite
, from which it was distinguished by the chemical analyses of Joseph L. Proust
(1754-1826) in 1804, after whom the mineral received its name.
The prismatic crystals are often terminated by the scalenohedron and the obtuse rhombohedron, thus resembling calcite
(dog-tooth-spar) in habit. The color is scarlet
-vermilion
and the lustre adamantine
; crystal
s are transparent and very brilliant, but on exposure to light they soon become dull black and opaque
. The streak is scarlet, the hardness 2.5, and the specific gravity
5.57.
Proustite occurs in hydrothermal deposits as a phase in the oxidized and supergene
zone. I is associated with other silver minerals and sulfides such as native silver, native arsenic, xanthoconite, stephanite
, acanthite
, tetrahedrite and chlorargyrite
.
Magnificent groups of large crystals have been found at Chañarcillo
in Chile
; other localities which have yielded fine specimens are Freiberg
and Marienberg
in Saxony
, Joachimsthal in Bohemia
and Markirch in Alsace
.
Sulfosalt minerals
Sulfosalt minerals are those complex sulfide minerals with the general formula: AmBnSp; where A represents a metal such as copper, lead, silver, iron and rarely mercury, zinc, vanadium; B usually represents semi-metal such as arsenic, antimony, bismuth and rarely germanium, or metals like tin and...
mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
consisting of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
sulfarsenide, Ag3As
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
S
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
3, known also as light red silver or ruby silver ore, and an important source of the metal. It is closely allied to the corresponding sulfantimonide, pyrargyrite
Pyrargyrite
Pyrargyrite is a sulfosalt mineral consisting of silver sulfantimonide, Ag3SbS3. Known also as dark red silver ore or ruby silver, it is an important source of the metal....
, from which it was distinguished by the chemical analyses of Joseph L. Proust
Joseph Proust
Joseph Louis Proust was a French chemist.-Life:Joseph L. Proust was born on September 26, 1754 in Angers, France. His father served as an apothecary in Angers. Joseph studied chemistry in his father’s shop and later came to Paris where he gained the appointment of apothecary in chief to the...
(1754-1826) in 1804, after whom the mineral received its name.
The prismatic crystals are often terminated by the scalenohedron and the obtuse rhombohedron, thus resembling calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
(dog-tooth-spar) in habit. The color is scarlet
Scarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
-vermilion
Vermilion
Vermilion is an opaque orangish red pigment, similar to scarlet. As a naturally occurring mineral pigment, it is known as cinnabar, and was in use around the world before the Common Era began. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, and vermilion is nowadays commonly...
and the lustre adamantine
Adamantine
Adamantine is a mineral, often referred to as adamantine spar. It is a silky brown form of corundum. It has a Mohs rating of 9.Adamantine is also used as an adjective to refer to non-metallic, brilliant light reflecting and transmitting properties, known as adamantine luster...
; crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s are transparent and very brilliant, but on exposure to light they soon become dull black and opaque
Opacity (optics)
Opacity is the measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light. In radiative transfer, it describes the absorption and scattering of radiation in a medium, such as a plasma, dielectric, shielding material, glass, etc...
. The streak is scarlet, the hardness 2.5, and the specific gravity
Specific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance. Apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance. The reference substance is nearly always water for...
5.57.
Proustite occurs in hydrothermal deposits as a phase in the oxidized and supergene
Supergene (geology)
In ore deposit geology, supergene processes or enrichment occur relatively near the surface. Supergene processes include the predominance of meteoric water circulation with concomitant oxidation and chemical weathering. The descending meteoric waters oxidize the primary sulfide ore minerals and...
zone. I is associated with other silver minerals and sulfides such as native silver, native arsenic, xanthoconite, stephanite
Stephanite
Stephanite is a silver antimony sulfosalt mineral with formula: Ag5SbS4 It is composed of 68.8% silver, and sometimes is of importance as an ore of this metal.-History:...
, acanthite
Acanthite
Acanthite, Ag2S, crystallizes in the monoclinic system and is the stable form of silver sulfide below 173 °C. Argentite is the stable form above that temperature. As argentite cools below that temperature its cubic form is distorted to the monoclinic form of acanthite. Below 173 °C...
, tetrahedrite and chlorargyrite
Chlorargyrite
Chlorargyrite is the mineral form of silver chloride . Chlorargyrite occurs as a secondary mineral phase in the oxidation of silver mineral deposits. It crystallizes in the isometric - hexoctahedral crystal class. Typically massive to columnar in occurrence it also has been found as colorless to...
.
Magnificent groups of large crystals have been found at Chañarcillo
Chañarcillo
Chañarcillo is a town and mine in the Atacama Desert of Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile, located near Vallenar and 75 kilometres from Copiapó. It is noted for its silver mining. The town grew up after the Chañarcillo silver mine was discovered on May 16 1832 by Juan Godoy...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
; other localities which have yielded fine specimens are Freiberg
Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
and Marienberg
Marienberg
Marienberg can refer to:*Marienberg, Saxony, the capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis district of the German state of Saxony*Bad Marienberg, a town in the Westerwaldkreis of Rhineland-Palatinate...
in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Joachimsthal in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Markirch in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
.