Stibnite
Species
Uncommon · Sb₂S₃
The chief ore of antimony, in steel-grey prisms that bend rather than snap and melt in a candle flame. Ground fine, it was one of the eye paints of antiquity, and its old name, stibium, became the symbol Sb.
Identity
- Formula
- Sb₂S₃
- Chemical class
- Sulfide
- Also known as
- Antimonite, Grey antimony
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Habits
- Prismatic, Acicular, Bladed, Massive
- Fracture
- Subconchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 2
- Density
- 4.63 g/cm³
- Luster
- Metallic
- Colors
- lead gray, bluish lead gray, steel gray, black
- Streak
- lead gray
- Transparency
- Opaque
Geology
- Origins
- Hydrothermal
- Host rocks
- Granite
- Associated minerals
- Quartz, Pyrite, Calcite, Realgar
- Found in
- Hydrothermal vein (lode)
- Geography
- China, Japan, Romania
Classification
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Gem quality
- No
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- Stibnite. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Stibnite. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
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