Alluvial gold from Bjurholm, Västerbotten.In copper sulfate. |
Gold from the Björkdal mine.It's visible in the bigger picture as yellow dots on the pyrite. |
Gold in quartz from the Björkdal mine.As filling in fractures. |
| Mineral class | Elements : Copper-silver-gold group |
| Chemical formula | Au |
| Crystal system | Cubic |
| Habitus | As grains, crack fillings and jugs. Rarely as octaedric crystals. |
| Cleavage | None, malleable. |
| Hardness | 2.5-3 |
| Density | 19.3 |
| Color | Yellow, without tarnish. |
| Streak | Yellow shiny. |
| Luster | Metallic |
| Description |   |
| Occurance | Primarily in quartz veins of hydrothermal origin,
but also as magmatic and metamorphic rock. Concentrated in alluvial deposits. |
| Associates | Quarts, sulfides. |
| Notes | Soluble in aqua regia, not in nitric acid. Norhern Sweden is the biggest gold producer in Europe. |
| Locations |
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| To elements index. |
Mineral group index. |
Main index. |
If you have some questions, suggestions or comments you are welcome to write me a line or two.