Argentotetrahedrite-(Zn)

Where it forms, where it's found

Type locality: Lengenbach Quarry
Fäld
Binn
Goms
Valais
Switzerland
46.3653°, 8.2205°

14recorded occurrences

Source · OpenStreetMap

Physical

Transparency: Opaque
Colour: Steel-grey

Optical

Optical colour: Grey, with blue-greenish tints
Tropism: Isotropic
Reflectance R%: (30.1) 470, (29.8) 546, (29.8) 589, (28.3) 650

Reflected-light panel

R̄ 29.5 %isotropic · single curve

Specimen sRGB 195, 138, 76

White reference100 % reflector under same lamp

Wavelength550 nm · R 29.8 %

Reflected colour: Grey, with blue-greenish tints

Crystallography

Crystal system: Isometric
Space group: #210
Cell parameters: a = 10.550(1) Å
Type-locality form: At Kremnica, as anhedral grains up to 0.1 mm in size in association with ‘argentotennantite-(Fe)’. At Lengenbach, as domains of tristetrahedrals crystal of tetrahedrite-(Zn), up to 1 mm in size. At Zvěstov, as irregular aggregates, up to 0.2 mm in size, partly rimmed by kenoargentotetrahedrite-(Fe).
Comment: a = 10.5505(10) Å (Kremnica); a = 10.5155(13) Å (Lengenbach); and a = 10.5663(12) Å (Zvěstov).

Crystal structure

Chemical composition

Constituent elements: Mass composition breakdown
Element Atoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/mol Mass share
47AgSilver Silver 6 107.868 647.208
33.43%
51SbAntimony Antimony 4 121.760 487.040
25.16%
16SSulfur Sulfur 13 32.060 416.780
21.53%
29CuCopper Copper 4 63.546 254.184
13.13%
30ZnZinc Zinc 2 65.380 130.760
6.75%
Total 1935.972 100.00%
Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100
From IMA formula

Mass composition breakdown
Element	Atoms	At. mass g/mol	Mass g/mol	Mass share
47AgSilver	Silver	6	107.868	647.208	33.43%
51SbAntimony	Antimony	4	121.760	487.040	25.16%
16SSulfur	Sulfur	13	32.060	416.780	21.53%
29CuCopper	Copper	4	63.546	254.184	13.13%
30ZnZinc	Zinc	2	65.380	130.760	6.75%
	Total	1935.972	100.00%

Synonyms

Argentotetrahedriet-(Zn)
Argentotétrahédrite-(Zn)
Argentotetrahedritt-(Zn)
IMA2020-069

In other languages

German: Argentotetraedrit-(Zn) · Argentotetrahedrit-(Zn) · IMA 2020-069
Italian: Argentotetraedrite- · Argentotetraedrite-(Zn)

Classification

Strunz

10th ed.

2.GB

2Sulfides and SulfosaltsClass
2.GSulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthitesDivision
2.GBNeso-sulfarsenites, etc. with additional SGroup
2.GBArgentotetrahedrite-(Zn)Species

Group, growth & confusion

5 members

Literature, links & citation

Citations

2005VOUDOURIS, P. (2005): Gold and silver mineralogy of the Lavrion deposit Attika/Greece. In: Mao, J.W. and Bierlein, F.P. (Eds.): Mineral deposit research: Meeting the global challenge. Springer, Berlin, 1089-1092.
2020Biagioni, Cristian, George, Luke L., Cook, Nigel J., Makovicky, Emil, Moëlo, Yves, Pasero, Marco, Sejkora, Jiří, Stanley, Chris J., Welch, Mark D., Bosi, Ferdinando (2020) The tetrahedrite group: Nomenclature and classification. American Mineralogist, 105 (1) 109-122 doi:10.2138/am-2020-7128DOI: 10.2138/am-2020-7128
2021Miyawaki, Ritsuro, Hatert, Frédéric, Pasero, Marco, Mills, Stuart J. (2021) IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) – Newsletter 59. European Journal of Mineralogy, 33 (1) 139-143 doi:10.5194/ejm-33-139-2021 DOI: 10.5194/ejm-33-139-2021
2022(2022) Argentotetrahedrite-(Zn). Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America
2022Sejkora, Jiří, Biagioni, Cristian, Števko, Martin, Raber, Thomas, Roth, Philippe, Vrtiška, Luboš (2022) Argentotetrahedrite-(Zn), Ag₆(Cu₄Zn₂)Sb₄S₁₃, a new member of the tetrahedrite group. Mineralogical Magazine, 86 (2) 319-330 doi:10.1180/mgm.2022.21DOI: 10.1180/mgm.2022.21

Cite this entry

@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Argentotetrahedrite-(Zn) — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/argentotetrahedrite-zn-53914},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}