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Formula: AgCl
Chloride of silver,
chlorargyrite group
Crystal System: Isometric
Specific gravity: 5.5 to 5.6 measured, 5.57 calculated
Hardness: 1½
Streak: White to grey
Colour: Colourless, white, yellowish, brownish, grey, black
Melts at 455°
Common impurities: I
Environments:
Chlorargyrite is a secondary mineral found in the
oxidation zone of
silver deposits, especially in arid regions, and in
epithermal (low temperature) veins. It is
found associated with native silver,
cerussite and other
secondary minerals.
Localities
At the Broken Hill district, Yancowinna county, New South Wales, Australia, the deposit originally formed in a shallow
lake or submarine rift and now comprises an intensely
granulite and upper
amphibolite facies metamorphosed and deformed
sequence of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and minor iron-rich and
Chlorargyrite occurs in vuggy coronadite with
goethite,
sometimes associated with smithsonite. It is also found with
cerussite, dolomite and
malachite. At deeper levels it is a late-stage mineral in the
arsenate zones,
associated with carminite and members of the
segnitite to beudantite series
(AJM 3.1.34).
Chlorargyrite from Broken Hill - Image
The type locality is the Marienberg mining district, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany.
At the San Rafael Mine, Quartz Mountain camp, Lodi Mining District, Lodi Hills, Nye County, Nevada, USA,
chlorargyrite and bromargyrite occur sparingly, associated with
mimetite, anglesite and
bayldonite
(R&M 85.6.516).
Chlorargyrite from the San Rafael Mine -
Image
At the Tintic Mining District, Juab County, Utah, USA, probably the most common
silver mineral of the District, chlorargyrite, has been found in many
of the mines, particularly where galena and other
lead minerals are more common. At the Trixie mine in the East Tintic
chlorargyrite occurs directly with hessite,
native silver and native gold. It is
most commonly found as brown smears that look like dirt; however, crystallized chlorargyrite has also been
found at the Trixie mine.
At the nearby Tintic Standard mine, chlorargyrite rich in bromine has also been found, as solid masses up to
5 cm in size
(MinRec 55.2.190-192).
Chlorargyrite from the Tintic Mining District -
Image
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