Potarite
A valid IMA mineral species - grandfathered
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About Potarite
Potaro River, Guyana
Formula:
PdHg
Colour:
Silver-white
Lustre:
Metallic, Sub-Metallic
Hardness:
3½
Specific Gravity:
14.88
Crystal System:
Tetragonal
Name:
For the type locality, the Potaro River, Guyana
Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
3266
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:3266:3
Similar Names
IMA Classification of Potarite
Approved, 'Grandfathered' (first described prior to 1959)
First published:
1928
Classification of Potarite
1.AD.25
1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
A : Metals and Intermetallic Alloys
D : Mercury-amalgam family
1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
A : Metals and Intermetallic Alloys
D : Mercury-amalgam family
Dana 7th ed.:
1.2.5.1
1.2.4.4
1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
2 : Platinum Group Metals and Alloys
1 : NATIVE ELEMENTS AND ALLOYS
2 : Platinum Group Metals and Alloys
1.67
1 : Elements and Alloys (including the arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides of Cu, Ag and Au)
1 : Elements and Alloys (including the arsenides, antimonides and bismuthides of Cu, Ag and Au)
Mineral Symbols
As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.
| Symbol | Source | Reference for Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Ptr | IMA–CNMNC | Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43 |
Physical Properties of Potarite
Metallic, Sub-Metallic
Transparency:
Opaque
Comment:
Frequently bright white, also gray-white
Colour:
Silver-white
Streak:
Silver white
Hardness:
3½ on Mohs scale
Tenacity:
Brittle
Cleavage:
None Observed
Density:
14.88 g/cm3 (Measured) 15.09 g/cm3 (Calculated)
Optical Data of Potarite
Anisotropism:
brown with an orange tint
Reflectivity:
| Wavelength | R1 (%) | R2 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 400nm | 41.6% | 41.6% |
| 440nm | 43.8% | 45.2% |
| 480nm | 47.8% | 48.8% |
| 520nm | 50.9% | 52.0% |
| 560nm | 53.4% | 54.4% |
| 600nm | 55.4% | 56.4% |
| 640nm | 57.2% | 58.4% |
| 680nm | 59.2% | 60.7% |
| 700nm | 60.2% | 62.1% |
Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Peak reflectance is 62.1%.
R1 shown in black, R2 shown in red
Colour in reflected light:
Cream to creamy white
Chemistry of Potarite
Mindat Formula:
PdHg
Elements listed:
Common Impurities:
Cu
Crystallography of Potarite
Crystal System:
Tetragonal
Class (H-M):
4/mmm(4/m2/m2/m) - Ditetragonal Dipyramidal
Space Group:
P4/mmm
Cell Parameters:
a = 3.026 Å, c = 3.702 Å
Ratio:
a:c = 1 : 1.223
Unit Cell V:
33.90 ų (Calculated from Unit Cell)
Z:
1
Morphology:
Small grains or nuggets, octahedral points, columnar, fibrous.
Crystal Structure
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Data courtesy of the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database. Click on an AMCSD ID to view structure
| ID | Species | Reference | Link | Year | Locality | Pressure (GPa) | Temp (K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0005246 | Potarite | Bayliss P (1990) Revised unit cell dimensions, space group, and chemical formula of some metallic minerals The Canadian Mineralogist 28 751-755 |  | 1990 | 0 | 293 |
CIF Raw Data - click here to close
X-Ray Powder Diffraction
Powder Diffraction Data:
| d-spacing | Intensity |
|---|---|
| 2.33 Å | (100) |
| 1.269 Å | (70) |
| 0.849 Å | (50) |
| 0.818 Å | (50) |
| 1.395 Å | (40) |
| 0.957 Å | (20) |
| 0.924 Å | (20) |
Geological Environment
Paragenetic Mode(s):
| Paragenetic Mode | Earliest Age (Ga) |
|---|---|
| Stage 3a: Earth’s earliest Hadean crust | >4.50 |
| 7 : Ultramafic igneous rocks | |
| Near-surface Processes | |
| 26 : Hadean detrital minerals | |
| High-? alteration and/or metamorphism | |
| 33 : Minerals deposited by hydrothermal metal-rich fluids (see also [#12]) | |
| Stage 4b: Highly evolved igneous rocks | >3.0 |
| 37 : Layered igneous intrusions and related PGE minerals |
Geological Setting:
Associated with platinum minerals in placers.
Type Occurrence of Potarite
General Appearance of Type Material:
White metallic nuggets, usually very rounded due to the mineral's low hardness, rarely shows small octahedral summits. May have fibrous to columnar texture.
Place of Conservation of Type Material:
1) The Natural History Museum, London, England, 1924,192, E238.
2) National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA, 95350
2) National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA, 95350
Geological Setting of Type Material:
Placers
Associated Minerals at Type Locality:
Other Language Names for Potarite
Common Associates
Associations Based on Photo Data:
| 7 photos of Potarite associated with Native Palladium | (Pd,Pt) |
| 7 photos of Potarite associated with Native Platinum | Pt |
| 7 photos of Potarite associated with 'Palladium-bearing Platinum' | (Pt,Pd) |
| 2 photos of Potarite associated with 'Platinum-bearing Palladium' | (Pd,Pt) |
Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping
| 1.AD. | Aurihydrargyrumite | Au6Hg5 |
| 1.AD.05 | Native Mercury | Hg |
| 1.AD.10 | Belendorffite | Cu7Hg6 |
| 1.AD.10 | Kolymite | Cu7Hg6 |
| 1.AD.15a | Paraschachnerite | Ag3Hg2 |
| 1.AD.15c | Eugenite | Ag11Hg2 |
| 1.AD.15b | Luanheite | Ag3Hg |
| 1.AD.15a | Schachnerite | Ag1.1Hg0.9 |
| 1.AD.15d | Moschellandsbergite | Ag2Hg3 |
| 1.AD.20b | 'Goldamalgam (of Chen et al.)' | (Au,Ag)Hg |
| 1.AD.20a | Weishanite | (Au,Ag,Hg) |
| 1.AD.20c | 'Yiyangite' | Au3Hg |
| 1.AD.30 | Leadamalgam | Pb0.7Hg0.3 |
| 1.AD.35 | Shosanbetsuite | Ag3Sn |
| 1.AD.40 | 'Unnamed (Au-Hg Amalgam)' | Au2Hg |
Fluorescence of Potarite
Not fluorescent in UV
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Potarite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-3266.html
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References for Potarite
Reference List:
Spencer, L. J. (1928) Potarite, a new mineral discovered by the late Sir John Harrison in British Guiana. Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, 21 (120) 397-406 doi:10.1180/minmag.1928.021.120.02
Spencer, L. J. (1928) Potarite, a new mineral discovered by the late Sir John Harrison in British Guiana. Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, 21 (120) 397-406 doi:10.1180/minmag.1928.021.120.02
Terada, K., Cagle, F. W. (1960) Crystal structure of potarite, PdHg, with comments on allopalladium. American Mineralogist, 45 (9-10) 1093-1096
Arai, S., Prichard, H. M., Matsumoto, I., Fisher, P. C. (1999) Potarite (Pd-Hg) in thermally metamorphosed dunite from the Inazumi-yama
ultramafic complex, southwestern Japan: an implication for the behaviour of
mercury in PGE mineralization in peridotite. Mineralogical Magazine, 63 (3) 369-377 doi:10.1180/minmag.1999.063.3.08
Localities for Potarite
Showing 52 localities.
symbol to view information about a locality.
The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Albania | |
| 12 (12) +1 other reference |
Australia | |
| HOATSON et al. (1992) |
| Nickel (2002) |
Austria | |
| 12 (12) +3 other references |
| Malitch et al. (2002) |
Botswana | |
| Piestrzynski et al. (2015) |
Brazil | |
| Cornejo et al. (2009) |
| Canadian Mineralogist: 40: 341-355. +11 other references |
| Teixeira (2014) |
| NetunoVillas et al. (2001) | |
Canada | |
| Kawohl et al. (2020) |
| gsa.confex.com (n.d.) |
Chile | |
| González-Jiménez et al. (2016) |
Egypt | |
| El Aref et al. (2020) |
France | |
| 33rd International Geological Congress (2008) |
Germany | |
| Heider et al. (2022) |
Guyana (TL) | |
| Anonymous (1926) +1 other reference |
India | |
| Canadian Mineralogist 40:277-309 |
Japan | |
| Arai et al. (1999) |
Morocco | |
| El Ghorfi et al. (2006) |
Russia | |
| Zaccarini et al. (2004) |
| Rudashevskiy N.S. et al. (2003) +3 other references |
| Spiridonov et al. (2019, April) | |
| Kislov +2 other references | |
| 12 (12) +1 other reference |
| Palyanova et al. (2023) |
| Palyanova et al. (2023) | |
| Palyanova et al. (2023) | |
| Kiseleva et al. (2014) |
| 12 (12) +1 other reference | |
| Stepanov et al. (2023) |
| Stepanov et al. (2023) | |
| Stepanov et al. (2019) +1 other reference | |
| Stepanov et al. (2019) |
| Stepanov et al. (2020) | |
| Zaccarini et al. (2011) |
| 9th International platinum symposium Chromite-PGE mineralization in the Uktus Alaskan-Type Complex (Central Urals,) +2 other references |
| Shabutdinov et al. (2024) | |
South Africa | |
| Melcher et al. (2005) |
| Oberthür et al. (2018) |
| Junge et al. (2014) |
Spain | |
| 12 (12) +1 other reference |
Turkey | |
| Kozlu et al. (2010) |
UK | |
| Power et al. (2000) |
| Prichard et al. (1988) +1 other reference |
| 12 (12) +1 other reference | |
USA | |
| Anthony et al. (1990) |
| ... |
| Castor et al. (2004) |
Zimbabwe | |
| Oberthür et al. (2003) +1 other reference |
| Oberthür et al. (2013) |
| Oberthür et al. (2013) |
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Serro, Minas Gerais, Brazil