Home > Metallic Minerals – September 17 > MS1437 Luanheite
Luanheite - Sold
- Elisa de Bordos
- Copiapó
- Atacama Region
- Chile
- 7.6 by 4.4 by 0.8 cm – Small cabinet specimen (under 10 cm)
Luanheite is an intermetallic compound of silver and mercury. It has a well ordered crystal structure, which keeps its Ag:Hg ratio near 3:1. Shao et al. (1984) named the mineral after the Luanhe River Valley in China.
This luanheite specimen comes from a prolific find in 1985. Luanheite forms a sheet in clay, likely within a fault gouge. There is partial replacement by acanthite in this material. Large for the occurrence.

