LIVINGSTONITE

    Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
    Subclass : Sulfosalts
    Crystal system : Monoclinic
    Chemistry : HgSb4S8
    Rarity : Very rare

Livingstonite is a very rare mercury and antimony sulfosalt from low temperature hydrothermal veins, where it is associated with cinnabar, stibnite, calcite, sulphur and gypsum. It was named in honor of David Livingstone, Scottish missionary, explorer of the African continent and ardent opponent of slavery. Livingstonite occurs in needles with perfect cleavage of up to 12 cm, in fibrous, columnar or spheroidal masses or in interlacing fine needles. Blackish gray in color, it is a mineral of low hardness (2) scratched with the nail, with a strong adamantine luster.

Main photo : Livingtonite and cinnabar from Landsberg, Obermoschel, Germany © Joy Desor

Livingstonite in the World

Livingstonite is known from five sites in the world. The most beautiful crystals come from the Mexican deposits of Huitzuco de los Figueroa (Guerrero), and Guadalcazar (San Luis Potosi). In Europe, it is known in Pedrosa del Rey (Spain).

Livingstonite in France

Livingstonite is not present in the French underground.

Twinning

No twin known for this mineral species.

Fakes and treatments

No fakes recorded for this mineral species.


Hardness : 2
Density : 4.88
Fracture : Undetermined
Streak : Red

TP : Translucent to opaque
RI : -
Birefringence : -
Optical character : Biaxial -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : Nitric acid

Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None

ReCaptcha

This service is used to secure web forms of our website and required if you want to contact us. By accepting it you agree to Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a service used on our website that tracks, reports traffic and measures how users interact with our website content in order for us to improve it and provide better services.

Facebook

Our website allows you to like or share its content on Facebook social network. By activating and using it you agree to Facebook's privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/policy/cookies/

YouTube

Integrated videos provided by YouTube are used on our website. By accepting to watch them you agree to Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Twitter

Integrated tweets and share services of Twitter are used on our website. By accepting and using these you agree to Twitter's privacy policy: https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-cookies

PInterest

Our website allows you to share its content on PInterest social network. By activating and using it you agree to PInterest's privacy policy: https://policy.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy/