Altaite, or
lead telluride
Lead telluride is a compound of lead and tellurium (PbTe). It crystallizes in the NaCl crystal structure with Pb atoms occupying the cation and Te forming the anionic lattice. It is a narrow gap semiconductor with a band gap of 0.32 eV. It occurs ...
, is a yellowish white mineral with an
isometric
The term ''isometric'' comes from the Greek for "having equal measurement".
isometric may mean:
* Cubic crystal system, also called isometric crystal system
* Isometre, a rhythmic technique in music.
* "Isometric (Intro)", a song by Madeon from ...
crystal structure. Altaite is in the galena group of minerals as it shares many of properties of
galena
Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver.
Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cryst ...
. Altaite has an unusually high density for a light-colored mineral. Altaite and other rare
tellurides are classified in the
sulfide mineral class (Dana classification).
Altaite was discovered in 1845 in the
Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the ...
. Besides these mountains altaite can also be found in
Zyryanovsk
Altai ( kk, Алтай, translit=Altai, russian: Алтай, translit=Altai), until 2019 known as Zyryan ( kk, Зырян, ''Zyrian'') or Zyryanovsk (russian: Зыряновск) is a town of regional significance in East Kazakhstan Region of ...
,
Kazakhstan; the Ritchie Creek Deposit in
Price County, Wisconsin
Price County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,054. Its county seat is Phillips.
History
Price County was created on March 3, 1879, when Wisconsin Governor William E. Smith signed legi ...
; the
Koch-Bulak gold deposit in
Kazakhstan;
Moctezuma,
Mexico; and
Coquimbo
Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more t ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
among other locations.
See also
*
List of minerals
References
{{Commons category, Altaite
Lead minerals
Telluride minerals
Galena group
Cubic minerals
Minerals in space group 225
Minerals described in 1845