Sartorite with Baumhauerite, Dolomite, Pyrite - image 1

Sartorite with Baumhauerite, Dolomite, Pyrite

Unknown Owner

Sartorite is a rare lead arsenic sulfide mineral that occurs in hydrothermal vein deposits associated with other complex sulfosalts. It was first described in 1865 from the Binn Valley in Valais, Switzerland and was named in honor of the Swiss mineral collector Sartorius von Waltershausen. Sartorite typically forms small metallic gray prismatic crystals or fibrous aggregates within alpine type fissure veins hosted in metamorphic rocks. It is commonly associated with minerals such as realgar, orpiment, and other lead arsenic sulfosalts, and specimens from the Binn Valley remain among the most well known examples of this uncommon mineral. This is a very rich and large example with bright metallic sartorite across the top of a dolomite matrix with minor pyrite and baumhauerite. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video and dates to write around the beginning of the 20th century or the late 19th century.