Franckeite - image 1
Photo by Roberto Appiani

Franckeite

A&
Anna & Danilo Rolando
0 for sale
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Franckeite, 7.5 cm (with rosettes to 2 cm, in chalcopyrite ore), from the San José mine, Oruro Department, Bolivia. Photo: Roberto Appiani.

Product details

SpeciesFranckeite
SizeMuseum
Dimensions750.0 cm
Added on02/13/2026
LocalityBolivia, Potosí, San Jose Mine
Publications
  • Mineralogical Record Private Mineral Collections In Italy page 132

Learn more

Mineral guide
Learn about Franckeite
, a rare micaceous lead-tin-antimony sulfosalt, forms layered rosettes and curved plates; Bolivian origin and texture make it collectible.
Franckeite
Regional guide
Franckeite from San José Mine, Bolivia
from the San José Mine is one of the classic Bolivian sulfosalt specimens: black to steel-gray, metallic, soft, heavy, and often built from curving blades and radiating rosettes rather than simple textbook crystals. The best pieces have a lively sheen that moves across the bent plates as the specimen is turned, giving an otherwise dark mineral a surprisingly sculptural presence. Collectors prize San José franckeite because it shows the species in displayable form—not merely as a massive ore constituent, but as rosettes, foliated aggregates, compact sprays, and curved, bladed crystals that express the mineral’s layered structure in the hand.