Cupropearceite

Cupropearceite from Tsumeb was first recognised on a specimen of enargite and tennantite ore obtained for just a few dollars at the Tucson mineral show (Frank Keutsch; pers. comm. 2016); the occurrence was described by Bindi et al. (2015). Inconspicuous pseudo-hexagonal crystals of cupropearceite, typically 0.5 mm across, are associated with enargite, on zinc-rich tennantite. The cupropearceite crystals have a distinctive triangular zoning pattern. SEM/EMPA study reveals the presence of narrow linear zones in the crystals which have the composition of cupropolybasite.

enargite; cupropolybasite; tennantite-(Zn)