Ehrigite

Bi8Te3
IMA status
  • Approved
IMA symbol
Ehg
IMA approved
2023
Also known as
  • Ehrigiet
  • Unnamed (Bi Telluride IV)

Where it forms, where it's found

Geological setting

skarn

Type locality
Good Hope Mine
  1. Hedley
  2. Osoyoos Mining Division
  3. British Columbia
  4. Canada

49.3317°, -120.0136°

6recorded occurrences
Source · OpenStreetMap

Physical

Transparency
Opaque
Colour
pale gray color

Optical

Optical colour
pale gray color
Notes

Reflectance is higher than tetradymite and slightly higher than hedleyite. It appears gray against native bismuth.

Crystallography

Crystal system
Trigonal
Space group
R-3m
Cell parameters
a = 4.519(6) Å · c = 65.18(2) Å
Z
3
Type-locality form

occurs as sub-100-micron-sized grains in hedenbergite skarn

Crystal structure

Chemical composition

Constituent elements
Mass composition breakdown
ElementAtoms At. mass g/mol Mass g/molMass share
83BiBismuthBismuth8208.9801671.840
81.37%
52TeTelluriumTellurium3127.600382.800
18.63%
Total2054.640100.00%

Mass share = atoms × atomic mass ÷ molar mass × 100

From Mindat formula

Synonyms

  • Ehrigiet
  • Unnamed (Bi Telluride IV)

In other languages

German
Ehrigit

Classification

Strunz
10th ed.

2.DC.05

  • 2Sulfides and SulfosaltsClass
  • 2.DMetal Sulfides, M: S = 3 :4 and 2:3Division
  • 2.DCVariable M:SGroup
  • 2.DC.05EhrigiteSpecies

Group, growth & confusion

Literature, links & citation

Citations
  1. 2021Ciobanu, Cristiana L., Slattery, Ashley D., Cook, Nigel J., Wade, Benjamin P., Ehrig, Kathy (2021) Bi8Te3, the 11-Atom Layer Member of the Tetradymite Homologous Series. Minerals, 11 (9) 980 doi:10.3390/min11090980 DOI: 10.3390/min11090980
  2. 2024Bosi, Ferdinando, Hatert, Frédéric, Pasero, Marco, Mills, Stuart J. (2024) IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) – Newsletter 77. European Journal of Mineralogy, 36 (1). 165-172 doi:10.5194/ejm-36-165-2024DOI: 10.5194/ejm-36-165-2024
  3. 2024Ciobanu, Cristiana L.; Cook, Nigel J.; Yao, Jie; Slattery, Ashley; Wade, Benjamin; Dima, Gabriel I. (2024) Ehrigite, Bi8Te3, a New Member of the Tetradymite Group. The Canadian Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology, 62 (6). 847-861 doi:10.3749/2400023DOI: 10.3749/2400023
Cite this entry
@misc{mineral2026,
  author    = {Mineral Index editorial board},
  title     = {Ehrigite — Mineral Index},
  year      = {2026},
  url       = {https://mineralindex.org/minerals/ehrigite-471007},
  note      = {Accessed 2026-05-11}
}