N = 6 member of Pavonite homologous series.
A probable "(Cu,Pb)-analogue of dantopaite" was described by Kolitsch et al. (2019).

Chemically, the S analogue of Unnamed (Se-analogue of Dantopaite).

Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:

39325

Long-form identifier:

mindat:1:1:39325:2

IMA Classification of DantopaiteHide

IMA status:

Approved

IMA Formula:

Ag¹⁺₅Bi³⁺₁₃S^2-₂₂

Approval year:

2009

First published:

2010

Type description reference:

Makovicky, E., Paar, W. H., Putz, H., Zagler, G. (2010) Dantopaite, Ag₅Bi₁₃S₂₂, the 6P natural member of the pavonite homologous series, from Erzwies, Austria. The Canadian Mineralogist, 48 (3) 467-481 doi:10.3749/canmin.48.3.467

Classification of DantopaiteHide

Strunz-mindat (2026):

2.JA.05

2 : SULFIDES and SULFOSALTS (sulfides, selenides, tellurides; arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides; sulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites, etc.)
J : Sulfosalts of PbS archetype
A : Galena derivatives with little or no Pb

Dana 8th ed.:

3.8.10.9

3 : SULFOSALTS
8 : 1 < ø < 2

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

Please only use the official IMA–CNMNC symbol. Older variants are listed for historical use only.

Symbol	Source	Reference for Standard
Dnt	IMA–CNMNC	Warr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43
Dnt	The Canadian Mineralogist (2019)	The Canadian Mineralogist (2019) The Canadian Mineralogist list of symbols for rock- and ore-forming minerals (December 30, 2019). download

Physical Properties of DantopaiteHide

Lustre:

Metallic

Transparency:

Opaque

Colour:

Gray-white

Streak:

Gray

Hardness:

3½ on Mohs scale

Hardness:

VHN₅₀=190 kg/mm² - Vickers

Tenacity:

Brittle

Cleavage:

None Observed

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Density:

6.74 g/cm³ (Calculated)

Comment:

Density could not be measured.

Optical Data of DantopaiteHide

Anisotropism:

Distinct in air and becomes enhanced in oil. Between crossed polars, bluish grey to brownish grey rotation- tints are common.

Bireflectance:

Perceptible in air and moderate in oil.

Reflectivity:

Wavelength	R₁ (%)	R₂ (%)
400nm	41.2%	46.8%
420nm	41.4%	47.5%
440nm	41.8%	48.9%
460nm	41.6%	48.6%
470nm	41.5%	48.3%
480nm	41.6%	48.5%
500nm	41.4%	48.1%
520nm	41.2%	48.0%
540nm	41.0%	47.3%
560nm	40.9%	47.3%
580nm	40.5%	47.1%
589nm	40.4%	46.6%
600nm	40.4%	46.8%
620nm	40.2%	46.6%
640nm	39.3%	45.8%
650nm	39.9%	46.1%
660nm	39.9%	45.8%
680nm	39.6%	45.4%
700nm	39.6%	45.2%

Graph shows reflectance levels at different wavelengths (in nm). Peak reflectance is 48.9%.
R₁ shown in black, R₂ shown in red

Colour in reflected light:

Grayish white

Pleochroism:

Visible

Comments:

Shades of grey

Chemistry of DantopaiteHide

Mindat Formula:

Ag₅Bi₁₃S₂₂

Empirical formula:
Cu_1.06Ag_4.24Pb_0.9Bi_12.23S_21.89Te_0.11. May contain minor Fe that is positively correlated with the Pb content (Pažout, 2025).

Element Weights:

Element	% weight
Bi	68.578 %
S	17.807 %
Ag	13.615 %

Calculated from ideal end-member formula.

Elements listed:

Ag, Bi, S - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Chemical AnalysisHide

Empirical formulas:

Sample ID	Empirical Formula
1	(1) Cu_1.36Ag_4.39Pb_0.12Bi_12.62Sb_0.06(S_14.01Se_7.91Te_0.08); (2) Cu_0.89Ag_4.50Pb_0.49Bi_12.53Sb_0.07(S_11.26Se_10.74)

Sample references:

ID	Locality	Reference	Notes
1	Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Goldfield Mining District, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA	Musetti, Silvia, Sejkora, Jiří, Biagioni, Cristian, Dolníček, Zdeněk (2023) Tellurium-rich stibiogoldfieldite and Se-bearing dantopaite from Goldfield, Nevada, USA: new crystal chemical data. Mineralogical Magazine, 88 (1) 40-48 doi:10.1180/mgm.2023.77	(1) Se-rich variety; (2) (Pb,Se)-rich variety domains, as up-to-30-μm-sized grains intergrown with bohdanowiczite

Crystallography of DantopaiteHide

Crystal System:

Monoclinic

Class (H-M):

2/m - Prismatic

Space Group:

B2/m

Setting:

C2/m

Cell Parameters:

a = 13.380(3) Å, b = 4.0492(9) Å, c = 18.690(4) Å
β = 105.494(4)°

Ratio:

a:b:c = 3.304 : 1 : 4.616

Unit Cell V:

975.79 Å³ (Calculated from Unit Cell)

Morphology:

Isolated grains intimately intergrown with pavonite or benjaminite or both.

Crystal StructureHide

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Unit Cell | Unit Cell Packed
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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)
0006280	Dantopaite	Makovicky E, Paar W H, Putz H, Zagler G (2010) Dantopaite, Ag5Bi13S22, the 6P natural member of the pavonite homologous series, from Erzwies, Austria The Canadian Mineralogist 48 467-481		2010	Erzwies, Austria	0	293

CIF Raw Data - click here to close

data_global
_chemical_name_mineral 'Dantopaite'
loop_
_publ_author_name
'Makovicky E'
'Paar W H'
'Putz H'
'Zagler G'
_journal_name_full 'The Canadian Mineralogist'
_journal_volume 48 
_journal_year 2010
_journal_page_first 467
_journal_page_last 481
_publ_section_title
;
 Dantopaite, Ag5Bi13S22, the 6P natural member of the pavonite homologous
 series, from Erzwies, Austria
;
_database_code_amcsd 0006280
_chemical_compound_source 'Erzwies, Austria'
_chemical_formula_sum 'Bi7.64 Ag1.05 Cu.56 S11'
_cell_length_a 13.380
_cell_length_b 4.0492
_cell_length_c 18.690
_cell_angle_alpha 90
_cell_angle_beta 105.494
_cell_angle_gamma 90
_cell_volume 975.793
_exptl_crystal_density_diffrn      7.141
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M 'C 1 2/m 1'
loop_
_space_group_symop_operation_xyz
  'x,y,z'
  '1/2+x,1/2+y,z'
  'x,-y,z'
  '1/2+x,1/2-y,z'
  '-x,y,-z'
  '1/2-x,1/2+y,-z'
  '-x,-y,-z'
  '1/2-x,1/2-y,-z'
loop_
_atom_site_label
_atom_site_fract_x
_atom_site_fract_y
_atom_site_fract_z
_atom_site_occupancy
_atom_site_U_iso_or_equiv
Bi1   0.85430   0.00000   0.35128   1.00000   0.01850
Bi2   0.61510   0.00000   0.44890   0.82000   0.02300
Ag2   0.61600   0.00000   0.46400   0.18000   0.02300
Bi3   0.09500   0.00000   0.25368   1.00000   0.01800
Bi4   0.30660   0.00000   0.10002   1.00000   0.02430
Ag1   0.00000   0.00000   0.00000   0.69000   0.04200
Cu1   0.00000   0.16000   0.00000   0.08000   0.00800
Cu2   0.49600   0.00000   0.07100   0.20000   0.11500
S1   0.66060   0.00000   0.03220   1.00000   0.01300
S2   0.24690   0.00000   0.40880   1.00000   0.02000
S3   0.71630   0.00000   0.21870   1.00000   0.01400
S4   0.00000   0.00000   0.50000   1.00000   0.03000
S5   0.47770   0.00000   0.31080   1.00000   0.02300
S6   0.95910   0.00000   0.12300   1.00000   0.01600
loop_
_atom_site_aniso_label
_atom_site_aniso_U_11
_atom_site_aniso_U_22
_atom_site_aniso_U_33
_atom_site_aniso_U_12
_atom_site_aniso_U_13
_atom_site_aniso_U_23
Bi1 0.01600 0.01720 0.02190 0.00000 0.00440 0.00000
Bi2 0.02700 0.02400 0.02000 0.00000 0.00900 0.00000
Ag2 0.02700 0.02400 0.02000 0.00000 0.00900 0.00000
Bi3 0.01870 0.01870 0.01500 0.00000 0.00090 0.00000
Bi4 0.03180 0.02530 0.01810 0.00000 0.01050 0.00000
Ag1 0.04900 0.05000 0.04000 0.00000 0.03300 0.00000
S1 0.01400 0.01500 0.01100 0.00000 0.00600 0.00000
S2 0.02000 0.02100 0.02100 0.00000 0.01100 0.00000
S3 0.01700 0.01100 0.01600 0.00000 0.01000 0.00000
S4 0.03700 0.02200 0.03300 0.00000 0.01600 0.00000
S5 0.01900 0.01400 0.04400 0.00000 0.02000 0.00000
S6 0.01300 0.01700 0.01000 0.00000 -0.00900 0.00000

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Powder Diffraction Data:

d-spacing	Intensity
3.578 Å	(58)
3.452 Å	(90)
3.331 Å	(36)
3.301 Å	(40)
2.861 Å	(100)
2.225 Å	(24)
2.025 Å	(25)
2.013 Å	(24)

Locality:

Erzwies mining area, Bad Hofgastein, St. Johann im Pongau District, Salzburg, Austria

Reference:

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):

Paragenetic Mode	Earliest Age (Ga)
High-? alteration and/or metamorphism
33 : Minerals deposited by hydrothermal metal-rich fluids (see also [#12])

Type Occurrence of DantopaiteHide

Type Locality:

ⓘ Erzwies mining area, Bad Hofgastein, St. Johann im Pongau District, Salzburg, Austria

General Appearance of Type Material:

Isolated grains and intimately intergrown with pavonite or benjaminite or both, to 300 μm.

Place of Conservation of Type Material:

Department of Materials Research and Physics (Division of Mineralogy), University of Salzburg, Austria.

Geological Setting of Type Material:

In a quartz vein, cutting gneiss.

Associated Minerals at Type Locality:

Benjaminite	Bismuthinite	Cosalite	Eskimoite	'Gustavite-Lillianite Series'
Heyrovskýite	Krupkaite	Native Gold	Ourayite	Pavonite
Pyrite	Tetradymite	Vikingite

Reference:

Synonyms of DantopaiteHide

IMA2008-058

Other Language Names for DantopaiteHide

Dutch:Dantopaiet

German:Dantopait

Relationship of Dantopaite to other SpeciesHide

Member of:

Pavonite Homologous Series Group

Other Members of Pavonite Homologous Series:

Benjaminite	Ag₃Bi₇S₁₂	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Cupromakopavonite	Ag₃Cu₈Pb₄Bi₁₉S₃₈	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Cupromakovickyite	Cu₄AgPb₂Bi₉S₁₈	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Cupropavonite	Cu_0.9Ag_0.5Pb_0.6Bi_2.5S₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Graţianite	MnBi₂S₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Grumiplucite	HgBi₂S₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Kudriavite	(Cd,Pb)Bi₂S₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Luboržákite	Mn₂AsSbS₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Makovickyite	Cu_1.12Ag_0.81Pb_0.27Bi_5.35S₉	Mon. 2/m
Mummeite	Cu_0.58Ag_3.11Pb_1.10Bi_6.65S₁₃	Mon.
Pavonite	AgBi₃S₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
Sunshuite	FeBi₂S₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m

Common AssociatesHide

Associations Based on Photo Data:

2 photos of Dantopaite associated with Cupropavonite	Cu_0.9Ag_0.5Pb_0.6Bi_2.5S₅
2 photos of Dantopaite associated with Pavonite	AgBi₃S₅
2 photos of Dantopaite associated with Quartz	SiO₂

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat Grouping Hide

2.JA.	Ferdowsiite	Ag₈(Sb₅As₃)S₁₆	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/b
2.JA.	Luboržákite	Mn₂AsSbS₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.	Sangenaroite	Ag₈(Sb_8-xAs_x)S_Σ16	Mon. 2/m
2.JA.05a	Pavonite	AgBi₃S₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05b	Grumiplucite	HgBi₂S₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05c	Kudriavite	(Cd,Pb)Bi₂S₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05d	Cupromakovickyite	Cu₄AgPb₂Bi₉S₁₈	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05e	Benjaminite	Ag₃Bi₇S₁₂	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05i	Livingstonite	HgSb₄S₆(S₂)	Mon. 2/m : B2/b
2.JA.05h	Mozgovaite	PbBi₄S₇	Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m)
2.JA.05a	Cupropavonite	Cu_0.9Ag_0.5Pb_0.6Bi_2.5S₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05	Selenodantopaite	Ag₅Bi₁₃Se₂₂	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05g	Borodaevite	Ag₅(Bi,Pb,Fe)₈(Sb,Bi)₂S₁₇	Mon.
2.JA.05a	Cupromakopavonite	Ag₃Cu₈Pb₄Bi₁₉S₃₈	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.05d	Makovickyite	Cu_1.12Ag_0.81Pb_0.27Bi_5.35S₉	Mon. 2/m
2.JA.05f	Mummeite	Cu_0.58Ag_3.11Pb_1.10Bi_6.65S₁₃	Mon.
2.JA.10b	Kupčíkite	Cu_3.4Fe_0.6Bi₅S₁₀	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.10d	Pizgrischite	(Cu,Fe)Cu₁₄PbBi₁₇S₃₅	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.10c	Hodrušite	Cu₈Bi₁₂S₂₂	Mon. 2/m
2.JA.10a	Cuprobismutite	Cu₈AgBi₁₃S₂₄	Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JA.10e	Padĕraite	Cu₇[(Cu,Ag)_0.33Pb_1.33Bi_11.33]S₂₂	Mon. 2/m : P2₁/m
2.JA.15	Schapbachite	Ag_0.4Pb_0.2Bi_0.4S	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m) : Fm3m
2.JA.15	Cuboargyrite	AgSbS₂	Iso. m3m(4/m32/m)
2.JA.20	Matildite	AgBiS₂	Trig. 32 : P3₁21
2.JA.20	Volynskite	AgBiTe₂	Trig. 3m(32/m) : P3m1
2.JA.20	Bohdanowiczite	AgBiSe₂	Trig. 3m(32/m) : P3m1

Other InformationHide

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 DantopaiteHide

mindat.org URL:

https://www.mindat.org/min-39325.html
Please feel free to link to this page.

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External Links:

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Raman and XRD data at RRUFF project

References and PDF downloads at RRUFF project

American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database

Handbook of Mineralogy page PDF

Mineral Dealers:

Buy from D. Joyce minerals

References for DantopaiteHide

Reference List:

(2015) Dantopaite. Handbook of Mineralogy. Mineralogical Society of America

Kolitsch, U.; Bayerl, R.; Topa, D. (2019) Neufunde aus der Grube Clara im mittleren Schwarzwald (V). Mineralien-Welt, 30 (3). 12-27

Pažout, Richard (2025) Iron-bearing dantopaite from Kutná Hora ore district, Czech Republic, and its mineral association. Bulletin Mineralogie Petrologie, 33 (1). 71-80 doi:10.46861/bmp.33.071

Localities for DantopaiteHide

Showing 8 localities.

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the

symbol to view information about a locality. The

symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.

Hide all sections | Show all sections

Locality ListHide

- 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). ~~Struck out~~ - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.


Austria (TL)
Salzburg St. Johann im Pongau District Bad Hofgastein ⓘ Erzwies mining area (TL)	Makovicky et al. (2010)

Czech Republic
Central Bohemian Region Kutná Hora District Kutná Hora ⓘ Staročeské Lode	Pažout (2025)

Germany
Baden-Württemberg Freiburg Region Ortenaukreis Oberwolfach ⓘ Clara Mine	Kolitsch et al. (2019)

Russia
Chelyabinsk Oblast Kaslinsky District ⓘ Porokhovskoe W deposit	Rogov et al. (2023)
ⓘ Yugo-Konevo W deposit	Rogov et al. (2023)
Kamchatka Krai Koryak Okrug Karaginsky District ⓘ Ozernovskoe deposit	Стрельников; МВ; Ханин; ДА; Япаскурт; ВО; Бритвин; СН; Плетнёв; ПА; et al. (n.d.)

Slovakia
Banská Bystrica Region Žarnovica District Hodruša-Hámre Hodruša-Hámre mines ⓘ Rozália Mine	Jeleň et al. (2012)

USA
Nevada Esmeralda County Goldfield Mining District Goldfield ⓘ Mohawk Mine	Musetti et al. (2023)

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Dantopaite

About DantopaiteHide