Just a few days before the last working day a large pocket was opened which yielded about 30 of the best
berthierite specimens ever found in the Herja mine, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Berthierite is a relatively widespread mineral at the Pezinok mine, associated mainly with stibnite and gudmundite.
comm.) reports having had
berthierite identified in polished sections, associated with andorite and prismatic crystals of zinkenite.
so I made one, to help out my Herja mine suite, with its semseyite,
berthierite and black calcite pieces.
For example, Gilbert Gauthier (Residence Les Marquis, 7 avenue Alexandre III, F-78600 Maisons-Laffitte) had a rare
berthierite from Val-de-Ville (Val-de-Ville is a little village situated 10 km from Sainte-Marie) that came from an old collection (now I regret not having paid attention to the old label Gilbert showed me).
1 2 3 5 6 Weight % Concentration Fe 35.08 35.74 35.66 35.71 32.98 S 19.53 21.20 20.82 20.95 16.60 As 43.52 41.70 43.09 40.79 41.23 Sb 2.51 2.12 1.26 3.38 9.49 TOTAL 100.64 100.76 100.83 100.83 100.30 Normalized Atomic Concentration Fe 34.16 34.13 34.09 34.29 34.01 S 33.13 35.26 34.66 35.03 29.81 As 31.59 29.68 30.70 29.19 31.69 Sb 1.12 0.93 0.55 1.49 4.49 TOTAL 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Berthierite Fe[Sb.sub.2]S
It is nearly always associated with abundant quartz, gudmundite and dolomite, often with stibnite, and occasionally with pyrrhotite or
berthierite.
spheres of calcite crystals blackened by included sulfides -- from Herja), and, also from Herja and most unusual, some bright, metallic, black, whiskery acicular groups of
berthierite in sizes up to 15 cm long.