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| Altaite
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Discovered
in 1845; IMA
status:
Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)
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Composition: |
Tellurium |
38.11 % |
Te |
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Lead |
61.89 % |
Pb |
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100.00 % |
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Classification
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Mineral
Classification: |
Sulfides
and Sulfosalts
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Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
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2/C.15-60
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Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
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2.CD.10
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2 : SULFIDES and SULFOSALTS (sulfides, selenides,
tellurides; arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides; sulfarsenites,
sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites, etc.) C : Metal Sulfides, M: S = 1: 1 (and similar)
D : With Sn, Pb, Hg, etc.
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Related
to: |
Galena Group.
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Members
of Group: |
Galena
Group: Alabandite, Altaite, Clausthalite, Galena, Niningerite,
Oldhamite
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Varieties: |
None
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Synonyms: |
Elasmose (of d'Halloy),
Lead telluride
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Crystal
Data
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Crystallography:
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Isometric - Hexoctahedral
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Crystal
Habit:
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Rarely
in very small cubes and octahedra; massive, as cleavages,
to 1 cm; granular, myrmekitic in other sulfides.
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Twinning:
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None
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Physical
Properties
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Cleavage: |
Perfect
on {001}
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Fracture: |
Sub-Conchoidal
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Tenacity:
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Sectile
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Mohs
Hardness: |
3.0; Vickers: VHN100=47-53 kg/mm2
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Density:
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8.19 (g/cm3)
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Luminescence:
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None
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Radioactivity:
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Not
Radioactive
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Optical
Properties
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Color: |
Tin-white
with yellowish tint, tarnishes bronze; in polished section,
white with a delicate greenish hue
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Transparency: |
Opaque
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Luster: |
Metallic |
Refractive
Index: |
R:
(400) 59.6, (420) 62.6, (440) 65.2, (460) 67.5, (480)
69.3, (500) 70.6, (520) 71.2, (540) 71.1, (560) 70.1,
(580) 68.7, (600) 66.8, (620) 65.1, (640) 63.4, (660)
61.9, (680) 60.6, (700) 59.4
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Birefringence: |
0.000
(opaque)
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Dispersion: |
None |
Pleochroism: |
None |
Anisotropism: |
None
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Occurances
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Geological
Setting: |
Typically
in hydrothermal vein Au–Te-bearing deposits. |
Common
Associations: |
Gold,
Silver, Antimony, Tellurium, Tellurantimony, Galena,
Pyrite, Hessite, Nagyágite, Tetrahedrite, Sylvanite,
Petzite, Calaverite, Arsenopyrite, Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite,
Jamesonite, Boulangerite, Bournonite, Aguilarite, Pyrrhotite,
Siderite, Cerussite, Quartz |
Common
Impurities: |
Ag,
Au, Cu, Fe, Se, S |
Type
Locality: |
Second Zavodinskii Mine
(Second Sawodinsk Mine), Zyryanovsk Rayon, Altai Mts (Rudnyi Altai),
Eastern Kazakhstan Province (Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy;
Vostochno-Kazakhstanskaya Oblast'), Kazakhstan
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Year
Discovered: |
1845
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View
mineral photos: |
Altaite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
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Unusual
Gem Categories
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Metallic
Gems |
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More
Information
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Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
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Altaite
is a rare member of the Galena Group of minerals that also
includes Alabandite,
Clausthalite and Galena. Altaite
is a lead telluride mineral that is opaque with metallic
luster and color of tin-white
with yellowish tint that may tarnish to bronze. Altaite
is often found with Galena which it shares the same
structure and other properties. Altaite has a greater
density than Galena however. The two minerals are found together in sulfide vein ore bodies.
Altaite is also associated with
Gold
and
Silver
and several Gold and Silver sulfides and tellurides.
The picture above shows bright metallic silvery veins
of Altaite in a Quartz matrix from the Mattagami Lake mine, Matagami, Nord-du-Québec, Québec, Canada.
Altaite is named after the Altai
Mountains at the discovery locality at the Second Zavodinskii Mine, Zavodinsk
Rayon Altai Mountains, Eastern Kazakhstan Province,
Kazakhstan.
Altaite
distribution: occurrences are too numerous to fully
list. Selected localities are: in the Zavodinskii mine,
near Ziryanovsk, Altai Mountains, Kazakhstan [TL], hundreds
of kg. At the Bereznyakov gold deposit, Southern Ural
Mountains, Russia. From Sãcãrîmb
(Nagyág), Sacarîmb, Romania. At Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia. In the Fiji Islands, in the Tuvatu
Au–Ag–Te deposit, Viti Levu. From the Bulawan deposit,
Negros Occidental, Phillipines. At several mines in
the Kirkland Lake area, Ontario, Canada. In the USA,
in the Foote mine, Kings Mountain, Cleveland County,
North Carolina; the Red Cloud mine, Gold Hill, Boulder
County, Colorado; the Mayflower mine, Tobacco Root Mountains,
Madison County, Montana; the Hilltop mine, near Las
Cruces, Do˜na Ana County, New Mexico; the Stanislaus
mine, Carson Hill district, Calaveras County, California;
and the Minnamax Cu–Ni–sulfide deposit, Duluth Gabbro
complex, near Hibbing, St. Louis County, Minnesota.
From the San Francisco mine, 145 km north of Hermosillo,
Sonora, Mexico.
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Altaite
gems for sale:
We
have not photographed our Altaite gems yet. Please
check back soon.
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