petzite

[′pet‚sīt]

(mineralogy)

Ag₃ AuTe₂ A steel-gray to iron-black mineral consisting of a silver gold telluride; hardness is 2.5-3 on Moh's scale, and specific gravity is 8.7-9.0.

References in periodicals archive ?

The main concentrations of gold are found in native gold and Petzite, broadly distributed among tellurides, and in silver concentrates, mixed with native gold, Hessite, and Petzite.

Geology of the Florencia gold--telluride deposit (Camaguey, Cuba) and some metallurgical considerations

At Cresson, calaverite crystallization overlaps but has primarily occurred after the crystallization of base-metal sulfide minerals, and in some cases it is replaced by petzite, melonite and altaite (Saunders, 1988).

Famous mineral localities: the Cripple Creek mining district Colorado

The general hue and cry and the expressions of worshipful awe around those gold cases were just what one would expect, and so, instead of running superlatives predictably around the old track, I will simply say that the major gold cases included the following: Gold Mines of Transylvania (with specimens showing visible crystals of petzite, hessite and alabandite)--Bill Pinch; a gorgeous case with gold coins, assay scales, books, pictures, etc.

Tucson show 2004

Most of the specimens were, of course, native gold, but one case held examples of minerals that combine gold with other elements; one such specimen was Harvard's petzite on gold, which must be the world's best petzite.