Image: <bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56247090" class="extiw" title="d:Q56247090"><span title="mineral collector and dealer">Robert M. Lavinsky</span></a></bdi> (CC BY-SA 3.0)
monocliniccommonSulfides
Acanthite
Ag₂S
This image displays a dark, metallic specimen of acanthite, likely a massive or botryoidal aggregate, exhibiting its characteristic lead-gray to black color and metallic luster.
Acanthite Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
2.5Crystal System
monoclinicLuster
metallicStreak Color
black to grayish-blackCleavage
indistinctFracture
conchoidal to unevenSpecific Gravity
7.2Colors
lead-gray, iron-blackTransparency
opaqueType Locality
Banská Štiavnica Mines, Banská Štiavnica, Banská Bystrica Region, SlovakiaMineral Group
SulfidesUses
silver ore, collectorAssociated Minerals
native silver, galena, sphalerite, pyrite, quartz, calciteRarity
commonGeological Context
Acanthite is a common secondary mineral found in low-temperature hydrothermal silver deposits. It often forms as a pseudomorph after argentite, its high-temperature cubic polymorph, upon cooling.
