Enargite

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Enargite crystals on pyrite from Butte, Montana - Specimen about 2 cm across.
Enargite crystals on pyrite from Butte, Montana - Specimen about 2 cm across.

Enargite is a copper arsenic sulfosalt mineral with formula: Cu3AsS4. It takes its name from the Greek word enarge, "distinct." Enargite is a steel gray, blackish gray, to violet black mineral with metallic luster. It forms slender orthorhombic prisms as well as massive aggregates. It has a hardness of 3 and a specific gravity of 4.45. It is a medium to low temperature hydrothermal mineral occurring with quartz, pyrite, as well as other copper sulfides. It occurs in the mineral deposits at Butte, Montana, San Juan Mountains, Colorado and at both Bingham Canyon and Tintic, Utah. It is also found in the copper mines of Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and the Philippines.

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