FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Robson Vieira]

Hello there.
Today i have a challenging material. The stuff is metallic like material, very dense and first of all, it looks like the pyrite family.
The main features are:
Density: 4,7
Luster: metallic
Hardness: 5,5 to 6,0
Streak: greyish
Magnetism: none
Cleavage: none
Fracture: no regular
Other: no acid reaction, no crystal shape, no taste at all, iridescence a little bit, the real location the stuff was found is not known...
I would be grateful for your help.
Thanks a lot

[Robson Vieira]

Honestly, i would expect a more greenish streak and, mainly, too heavy for pyrite? Also, my sample is too pale to match to the pyrite. Could it be from the pyrite family?

[Bob Morgan]

I'm perhaps showing ignorance, but your specimen reminds me of a chunk of silicon someone gave me years ago. It had been refined some, probably for the computer chip industry. I don't know what properties it had compared to your tests. 'Just a thought.

[Robson Vieira]

Hi Bob interesting fact you stated. I had not thought of this possibility. It has clarified the question, even though my sample seems too dense to be silicon. I have minded if it could be an industry high density alloy, I just don't know.