Rocksday

Tetrahedrite

A steel-gray copper antimony sulfide named for its tetrahedral crystals; it often carries silver.

Tetrahedrite specimen
Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify tetrahedrite

  • Steel-gray tetrahedrons (four-sided pyramids).
  • Metallic luster, no cleavage.
  • Brownish-black streak.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Peru
  • Bolivia
  • Idaho
  • Romania

Uses

Copper and silver ore.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Some tetrahedrite contains so much silver that it's mined as a silver ore.

Think you could spot it from a blurry close-up?

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