Petzite

Telluride mineral

Petzite

Petzite with quartz – Sacarîmb, Nagyág, Romania

General
Category| telluride mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)| Ag3AuTe2
IMA symbol| Ptz[1]
Strunz classification| 2.BA.40a
Crystal system| Cubic
Crystal class| Gyroidal (432)
(same H-M symbol)
Space group| I4132
Identification
Color| Steel-gray to iron-black, commonly tarnished from bronze-yellow to sooty black; grayish white with a pale bluish tint in polished section
Crystal habit| Granular to massive
Fracture| Subconchoidal irregular
Tenacity| Slightly sectile to brittle.
Mohs scale hardness| 2.5 – 3
Luster| Metallic
Streak| Grayish black
Diaphaneity| Opaque
Specific gravity| 8.7 – 9.14
References| [2][3][4][5]

The mineral petzite, Ag3AuTe2, is a soft, steel-gray telluride mineral generally deposited by hydrothermal activity. It forms isometric crystals, and is usually associated with rare tellurium and gold minerals, often with silver, mercury, and copper.

The name comes from chemist W. Petz, who first analyzed the mineral from the type locality in Săcărâmb, Transylvania, Romania in 1845. It was described by Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger in 1845 and dedicated to W. Petz who had carried out the first analyses.[3][4]

It occurs with other tellurides in vein gold deposits. It is commonly associated with native gold, hessite, sylvanite, krennerite, calaverite, altaite, montbrayite, melonite, frohbergite, tetradymite, rickardite, vulcanite and pyrite.[3]

Petzite forms together with uytenbogaardtite (Ag3AuS2) and fischesserite (Ag3AuSe2) the uytenbogaardtite group.

## See also[edit]

* List of minerals
* List of minerals named after people

## References[edit]

1. ^ Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43. S2CID 235729616.
2. ^ Mineralienatlas
3. ^ a b c Anthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (2005). "Petzite" (PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineral Data Publishing. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
4. ^ a b Barthelmy, David (2014). "Petzite Mineral Data". Webmineral.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
5. ^ Petzite, Mindat.org, retrieved 6 August 2022

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