Spionkopite

Spionkopite
Image credit: Mindat

Description

A rare Copper sulfide mineral. Spionkopite occurs naturally in copper deposits in Alberta, Canada and was named after its discovery locality, Spionkop Creek valley. It has also been found as a corrosion product on copper alloy ring recovered from a shipwreck (Nord et al. 1993).

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Composition = Cu₃₉S₂₈
• Hardness = 2.5-3
• Density = 5.13 g/ml
• Appearance = opaque blue with metallic luster

Resources and Citations

• A.Nord, K.Lindahl, K.Tronner, "A Note on Spionkopite as Corrosion Product on a Marine Copper Find" Studies in Conservation, 38:133-135, 1993.

• Mindat: Spionkopite

• Webmineral: Spionkopite

• Wikipedia: Spionkopit (German)