Home > Type Localities II – October 30 > MS0811 Sartorite

Sartorite - Sold


Sartorite is a lead arsenic sulfide, named by Dana (1851). Known earlier as scleroclase, the new name honors Professor Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen (1809-1876), University of Göttingen who first announced the species. The atomic scale crystallography of the mineral is quite complex (Pring, 1990) with nanoscale intergrowths of different minerals. Moële et al. (2008) lists sartorite in the IMA report on sulfosalts. Sartorite formed a doubly terminated prismatic crystal, 7 mm, embedded in contrasting yellow-orange orpiment. Also present is granular dufrenoysite in characteristic dolostone matrix from this locality. This specimen was part of the personal collection of Ralph Merrill, proprietor of the prolific mail order business Minerals Unlimited.