Article
Article
Proustite
Article By:
Hurlbut, Cornelius S., Jr. Department of Geological Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.552300
A mineral having composition Ag3AsS3 and crystallizing in the hexagonal system. Proustite occurs in prismatic crystals terminated by steep ditrigonal pyramids, but is more commonly massive or in disseminated grains (see illustration). There is good rhombohedral cleavage. Hardness is 2–2.5 (Mohs scale) and specific gravity is 5.55. The luster is adamantine and the color ruby red. It is called light ruby silver in contrast to pyrargyrite, dark ruby silver. Proustite is less common than pyrargyrite but the two minerals are found together in silver veins. Noted localities are at Chañarcillo, Chile; Freiberg, Germany; Guanajuato, Mexico; and Cobalt, Ontario, Canada. See also: Pyrargyrite; Silver
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