Cerargyrite

cerargyrite

[sa′rär·jə‚rīt]

(mineralogy)

AgCl A colorless to pearl-gray mineral; crystallizes in the isometric system, but crystals, usually cubic, are rare; a secondary mineral that is an ore of silver. Also known as chlorargyrite; horn silver.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Cerargyrite

 

horn silver, a mineral of the chloride class; chemical composition, AgCl (75.26 percent silver).

Cerargyrite contains an admixture of bromine and, more rarely, mercury. The structure is of the NaCl type but with covalent bonds between the atoms, so that the mineral is malleable and easily shaved. The crystals are rarely in a cubic system; usually there are solid wax-like masses of a gray to dark brown color. The hardness is 2.5 on the mineralogical scale; the density is 5,556 kg per cu m. Cerargyrite forms in the oxidation zone of ore deposits containing primary silver minerals, and it is a very rich silver ore.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.