Image: <bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126871368" class="extiw" title="d:Q126871368"><span title="photographer from the United States">Darla Sondrol</span></a></bdi> (CC0)
cubicuncommonNative Elements
Silver
Ag
This image shows native silver embedded within a polished slab of dark basaltic rock. The silver appears as bright, metallic veins or disseminated grains, coated with an acrylic spray to prevent its characteristic tarnishing.
Silver Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
2.5Crystal System
cubicLuster
metallicStreak Color
silver-whiteCleavage
noneFracture
hacklySpecific Gravity
10.1Colors
silver-white, yellow, brown, gray, blackTransparency
opaqueType Locality
Kongsberg, NorwayMineral Group
Native ElementsUses
jewelry, coinage, industrial, collector, oreAssociated Minerals
quartz, calcite, argentite, galena, basaltRarity
uncommonGeological Context
Native silver typically forms in hydrothermal veins, often associated with sulfide deposits, or in the oxidized zones of silver ore bodies. It can also occur in some volcanic rocks like basalt, as seen in this specimen.
