Bilibinskite (original) (raw)

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Telluride mineral

Bilibinskite
General
Category Telluride mineral
Formula Au3Cu2PbTe2
IMA symbol Bb[1]
Strunz classification 02.BA.55
Crystal system Cubic
Crystal class Sulfide
Identification
Formula mass 1,180.39 g/mol
Color Bronze colored, light brown or brownish-pink
Crystal habit Massive
Cleavage None
Mohs scale hardness 4.5 – 5
Luster Sub-metallic
Streak golden brown
Diaphaneity opaque
Density 14.27
Optical properties Anisotropic
Other characteristics IMA Status Approved (1978)
References [2][3]

Bilibinskite is an Au – Cu – Pb telluride. It is a rare mineral that was named after Soviet geologist Yuri Bilibin (1901–1952), who researched the geology of gold deposits during the time of the USSR.[4]

Bilibinskite is a metallic mineral with a color that ranges from opaque bronze-colored to light-brown or brownish-pink. It has a sub-metallic luster, a brown streak color and has no fission. Bilibinskite crystallizes in the cubic system. It has a high relative density of 14.27. The mineral has a hardness of 4.5 to 5 and it is not radioactive.

Bilibinskite is a very rare mineral that formed in the weathering zones of gold tellurides. The type locality is the Kamchatka Peninsula (Aginskoe gold deposit) in the Russian Far East, where the mineral was discovered in 1978.[4] It has also been found in hypogene ores of Kazakhstan, Xinjiang and Tuva.[5]

  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. ^ Bilibinskite – Russian Foundation for Basic Researches
  3. ^ Handbook of Mineralogy
  4. ^ a b Spiridonov E., Bezsmertnaya M., Chvileva T., Bezsmertny V. Bilibinskite, Au3Cu2PbTe2, a new mineral gold-telluride deposits. Intern. Geol. Rev. 1979. Vol. 21. P. 1411—1415.
  5. ^ I.Y. Nekrasov, Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Genesis of Gold Deposits, table 20.