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)
cubicrareNative Elements
Silver
Ag
This specimen displays native silver, appearing tarnished gray, embedded within a quartz matrix. Native silver typically forms as wires, dendritic growths, or fine flakes, as seen in this 8 cm specimen.
Silver Physical Properties
Mohs Hardness
2.5Crystal System
cubicLuster
metallicStreak Color
silver-white, shinyCleavage
noneFracture
hacklySpecific Gravity
10.4Colors
silver-white, gray, blackTransparency
opaqueType Locality
Kongsberg (Norway), Freiberg (Germany), Cobalt (Canada)Mineral Group
Native ElementsUses
jewelry, coinage, electronics, photography, industrialAssociated Minerals
quartz, calcite, acanthite, galena, proustite, pyrargyriteRarity
rareGeological Context
Native silver primarily forms in hydrothermal veins, often associated with sulfide deposits, and can also occur in the oxidation zones of silver-bearing ore bodies.
