Petzite
Petzite with quartz - Sacarîmb, Nagyág, Romania
General
Category	telluride mineral
Chemical formula	Ag3AuTe2
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
Crystal system	Cubic Gyroidal H-M Symbol (4 3 2)
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	[1][2][3]

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 Nagyág, Transylvania, Romania in 1845.^[1][2]

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.^[1]

[edit] See also

• List of minerals
• List of minerals named after people

[edit] References

This article about a specific mineral or mineraloid is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e