Home > American Minerals V – October 1 > MS1659 Antimony nugget

Antimony nugget - Sold


Antimony is a semi-metallic element isolated in ancient times, and used by alchemists. The name antimony is from the medieval Latin antimonium, and likely previously of Arabic origin. This locality is a known past producer of native antimony specimens, but it has not produced much in decades.

Antimony here formed a nugget of spheroidal weathering origin; it has been broken in half to reveal an interior of crystalline antimony. A white skin of antimony oxides, principally senarmontite and valentinite, is present. Reflections from cleavage planes on the broken surface indicate a crystal grain averaging 1.5 cm. Rare.