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Marshite Miersite & Cuprite

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SKY535622

Marshite Miersite & Cuprite

Rare Mineral

Description Tabs

Description
Locality: 
Poteryaevskoe Mine, Rubtsovskoe, Rudnyi Altai, Altai Krai, Russian Federation
Class: 
Crystals on Matrix
Size Range: 
Small miniature (3-4.5 cm)
Size: 
3 × 2.5 × 2 cm
Description

Exceptionally well crystallized specimen of the two very rare copper iodides marshite (CuI) and miersite (Cu, Ag)I from this already famous Russian deposit. Marshite occurs as complex beige crystals and miersite occurs as deep yellow crystals, both associated to deep red sharp cuprite crystals in a contrasting brown matrix

For an excellent review on the locality see Mineralogical Record Vol.45, nº4, July-August 2014 article, where it tells that the marshite occurrence inside the mine was only 6 m long ! (p.409) and the miersite occurrence was only a 6 selected spots in area of about 20m long ! (p.409, map).

In addition, the Munich Show report in the Mineralogical Record (Vol.46, num 1, 2015, p.168) tells that "all mining of ore has been ceased, this great locality has reached the end of the line". For this reason, future discoveries of marshites are probably unlikely.

Very hard to obtain material in this quality !.

 

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

Marshite

Formula: 
CuI
Strunz: 
3.AA.05
Crystal System: 
Isometric
Hardness: 
2.5
Streak: 
Yellow
Type Locality: 
Broken Hill Proprietary Mine (Proprietary Mine; BHP Mine), Broken Hill, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales, Australia

Miersite

Formula: 
(Ag,Cu)I
Strunz: 
3.AA.05
Hardness: 
2.5 - 3.0
Colour: 
Yellow
Streak: 
Yellow
Type Locality: 
Broken Hill, Yancowinna Co., New South Wales, Australia

Cuprite

Formula: 
Cu2O
Strunz: 
4.AA.10
Crystal System: 
Isometric
Hardness: 
3.5 - 4.0

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