Polybasite

The silver-copper sulphosalt Polybasite is always an attractive mineral when well crystallised, making it stand out from what can be perceived as yet “another grey mineral”! This delightful and great example from Himmelsfürst mine in the classic Freiberg District of Saxony is a porous mass of intergrown lead-grey Polybasite crystals mixed with brecciated shards of milky Quartz. Much of the latter has a secondary overgrown of very-fine textured acicular Quartz, of a feathery appearance under low magnification. The Polybasite forms striated, well terminated crystals of up to 4 or 5 mm long, many forming chevroned or herringbone patterns. Sometimes coating the Polybasite and Quartz are clusters of micro-granular brassy-golden Chalcopyrite crystals. A super example of this relatively rare sulphosalt and always a bonus when from Saxony.