Stibnite

STIBNITE

HISTORY, NAME, LOCALITIES:  Known since antiquity, stibnite received its name in 1854.  The name “stibnite” pronounced STIBB-nite, is derived from stibi, the Greek name for the mineral.  Stibnite is collected in Japan, China, Bolivia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United States (Alaska, California, Idaho).

MINERALOGY, PROPERTIES, OCCURRENCE: Stibnite [arsenic trisulfide, As2S3] crystallizes in the orthorhombic system as individual bladed or acicular prisms that often become intergrown to form jumbled, intricate aggregates.  Stibnite is lead-gray in color and can exhibit a tarnish and iridescence.  It has a bright metallic luster, a Mohs hardness of 2.0, perfect cleavage in one direction, and a specific gravity of 4.6.  Stibnite occurs primarily in hydrothermal veins and hot-springs deposits in association with such minerals as cinnabar, realgar, and arsenopyrite.

METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES, LORE, USES: Powdered stibnite has served as an eye-shadow material and pigment since ancient times. Modern metaphysical practitioners believe that stibnite enhances knowledge, guidance, and direction; facilitates understanding of the natural world; improves relationships; and increases the ability to understand one’s soul.  Stibnite is the primary ore of the semimetal antimony.  Antimony serves as an alloying metal and semiconductor; its compounds are used as flame retardants, pigments, and glass additives.

COLLECTORS’ INFORMATION: Stibnite makes especially desirable collectors’ specimens because of its bright, metallic luster and long, well-developed, striated crystals that often form jumbled, intricate aggregates.