Stromeyerite

Description

Stromeyerite has a hardness of 2½ – 3 and a specific gravity of 6.2 – 6.3. Stromeyerite was discovered in 1832 in the Central Bohemia Region of the Czech Republic and named after Friedrich Stromeyer, a professor of chemistry at the university of Göttingen (Germany) and the person who performed the first chemical analysis of the mineral.

Stromeyerite is found in around 786 localities worldwide and 41 within Colorado, usually around hydrothermal veins and often associated with Silver, Chalcocite, Bornite, Galena, Tetrahedrite, Chalcopyrite, Quartz, Sphalerite, Hematite, and Jalpaite.

WebMineral analyzed a specimen and found it contains roughly 53% Silver, 31% Copper, and 16% Sulfur, so not only would this make for a great specimen representing how those elements can be found in nature for element collectors, but this is a rock to keep in mind and to try to find for yourself if you’re hoping to win the lottery and open a new Silver mine!

In addition to its elements, this rock also appeals to Colorado rock collectors… Mindat states that “the North Star Mine is a former Ag-Cu-W-Zn-Pb mine located near Sultan Mountain and Silverton, situated on the lowermost slopes of the mountain just above the Mineral Creek valley WSW of Silverton. One of the larger openings on the eastern flank of Sultan Mountain. This mine and several others in the general area exploit veins that either radiate perpendicular to, or are parallel to, the ring fracture zone at the outer margin of the Silverton cauldera.” The North Star Mine doesn’t have any Stromeyerite listed on Mindat as having been found there, but it does include Lillianite, which looks very similar to this, and Silver-bearing Galena, so it’s not hard to believe either the original collector or Mindat may be wrong, but that this is still Silver all the same!

Whether you’re hiking around the Silverton cauldera, or hydrothermal veins elsewhere which may contain Silver, be sure to keep your eyes out for a rock like this!