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Formula: Cu1.7Pb1.7Bi6.3S12
Sulphosalt, bismuth-bearing mineral, a member of the
aikinite-bismuthinite series
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 6.94 measured, 6.944 calculated
Hardness: 3½
Streak: Greyish black
Colour: Light grey
Environments
Localities
At the type locality, the Western ore field, Mittersill Scheelite deposit, Mittersill, Zell am See District,
Salzburg, Austria, the scheelite ore is hosted by a sequence of
metabasalts,
metagabbros and
orthogneisses, accompanied by
granites. Scheelite is
associated with beryllium minerals,
fluorite and a variety of sulphides and sulphosalts. Dominant sulphides are
pyrrhotite, pyrite,
chalcopyrite and members of the
molybdenite–tungstenite
solid solution series.
Sulphosalts occur as lens-shaped nests, fine layers of grains and crystals, as well as irregular aggregates in
bodies, veins and layers of quartz in
amphibolites,
gneisses and scheelite ore.
Galenobismutite, cosalite,
members of the
bismuthinite–aikinite series,
members of the lillianite-,
pavonite-,
junoite- and
cuprobismutite homologous series,
cannizzarite, eclarite,
selected tellurium minerals and
native bismuth are abundant.
Both paarite and salzburgite are found in
quartz veins cutting the metamorphosed
(upper greenschist to lower
amphibolite facies)
scheelite deposit, in associations relatively poor in
copper; the associated minerals are other sulphosalts in the range
gladite–krupkaite,
gustavite–lillianite solid
solution, pavonite and
makovickyite, as well as traces of
cosalite, cannizzarite,
tetradymite, native bismuth,
chalcopyrite and pyrite, all
hosted in quartz.
Paarite forms rare, elongate crystals, up to 0.2 mm long, light grey, opaque with a metallic lustre, and
brittle with an uneven fracture
(CM 43.3.909-917).
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