Altaite
Mineral PbTe
Take care.
- Contains lead: Wash your hands after handling it, keep it away from children, and don't make dust.
About it
Tin-white lead telluride with a yellowish tint and perfect cubic cleavage like galena, but heavier. Named for the Altai Mountains; found in gold-telluride ores.
- Type
- Mineral
- Group
- Telluride, galena group
- Formula
- PbTe
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 2.5–3
- Specific gravity
- 8.1–8.3
- Streak
- black
- Lustre
- metallic
- Crystal system
- Isometric (cubic)
- Colours
- tin white with a yellowish tint, bronze tarnish
- Transparency
- opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- perfect cubic
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.