Pyrargyrite -- Second in a Series

摘要

With this article about pyrargyrite, we begin a sequence of four sulfosalts. (See the next month's article for more on this term.) Possibly the most common of the four species, it is known from several areas and well-represented in many major collections. Identification is rarely a problem unless you are looking at proustite (That will be discussed in part six.) A chemical comparison may help since antimony is prominent with little arsenic; the opposite situation describes proustite. Crystals to six cm are noted; but don't expect to find any in the marketplace of this size. Prismatic crystals are among the best clues to identification and differentiation from proustite.