Lorándite & Realgar

Description

Lorándite has a hardness of 2 – 2½ and a specific gravity of 5.53, while Realgar has a hardness of 1½ – 2 and a specific gravity of 3.56. Lorándite was “named in honor of Prof. Loránd Eötvös, a physicist, mathematician and politician of Budapest” according to Mindat, while Realgar gets its name “from (the) Arabic “rahj al-gahr”, powder of the mine. Known as a mineral pigment in Byzantium (essentially Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula) at least by the beginning of the thirteenth century and presumably having a name by that time.”

Lorándite is found in roughly 18 different localities around the world with 7 in the US, spread between Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, while Realgar is found in probably 1,000 different localities worldwide. Both are commonly found with one another, along with Orpiment, Calcite, Quartz, Stibnite, Arsenic, Barite, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Dolomite, Raguinite, Fangite, Dorallcharite, Picotpaulite, Lafossaite, and Cinnabar. Lorándite occurs in “low-temperature hydrothermal associations and in gold and mercury ore deposits” according to Wikipedia, and Realgar is a “low-temperature hydrothermal vein mineral associated with other arsenic and antimony minerals”. Wikipedia also includes that while Lorándite is a rare mineral, it’s the most common Thallium-bearing mineral.

WebMineral shows compositions of roughly an even 70% and 30% split between Arsenic and Sulfur for Realgar, and 60% Thallium, 22% Arsenic, and 18% Sulfur for Lorándite. This is an excellent collectable for those looking to collect the periodic table of the elements as they’re found naturally and in need of Thallium or Arsenic, but as those are both pretty toxic, you probably shouldn’t buy this for any other reason. Definitely don’t buy this to give to a child, or anyone else that might find it appealing to plop in their mouth.

The IMA recognizes 92 Thallium-bearing minerals, and around only 10 tons are produced annually for glass manufacturing, electronics and the pharmaceutical industries; while the IMA has recognized 783 Arsenic-bearing minerals and worldwide production is nearly 4,000x that of Thallium, but neither element is particularly valuable or highly sought after, so be on the lookout for a mineral like this and keep it in the back of your mind to avoid, but still, it’s a mineral which you can relate to rocks around you and possibly make a new discovery!