Bezsmertnovite
| Bezsmertnovite | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Category | Telluride mineral |
| Formula | Au4Cu(Te,Pb) or Au4Cu(Te,Pb),Ме5Х |
| IMA symbol | Bez |
| Strunz classification | 2.BA.80 |
| Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
| Crystal class | Sulfide |
| Identification | |
| Formula mass | 986.7750218 g/mol |
| Color | bright yellow, yellow-orange, orange, bronze yellow |
| Crystal habit | Massive |
| Mohs scale hardness | 4.5 |
| Luster | sub-metallic |
| Streak | golden, yellow, orange |
| Diaphaneity | opaque |
| Density | 16.3 (calculated) |
| Optical properties | anisotropic in neutral gray shades |
| Other characteristics | IMA Status Approved (1979) |
| References | |
Bezsmertnovite, less often bessmertnovite (Russian: Безсмертновит) is a very rare supergene mineral of the sulfide class, complex in composition: mixed plumbotelluride of gold, copper, iron, silver from the bilibinskite group with the calculation formula Au4Cu(Te,Pb).
Discovered in 1978 at the Aginskoe gold deposit (Central Kamchatka), bezsmertnovite stands out among all other ore minerals with its unusually high saturation and purity of color (orange-yellow), surpassing even gold. In 1979, the new mineral was named in honor of the married couple of famous Moscow mineralogists: Vladimir and Marianna Bezsmertnaya. The co-authors of the discovery were two Moscow scientists, geologist Ernst Spiridonov and mineralogist Tatiana Chvileva.