Altaite is a rare lead telluride mineral that typically appears as metallic, tin-white masses or grains within gold-bearing hydrothermal veins. Collectors look for its characteristic perfect cubic cleavage and high density, often found alongside native gold and other telluride minerals.
Is this altaite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch altaite with a known reference. Altaite sits at Mohs 3, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: black.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: tin white, yellowish tin white, bronze yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: euhedral crystals, massive.
Often confused with
Altaite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Altaite leaves black, Galena leaves lead-gray.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Altaite leaves black, Petzite leaves grayish black.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Altaite leaves black, Hessite leaves light gray.
Often found alongside altaite
Minerals reported to co-occur with altaite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- PbTe
- Mohs hardness
- 3
- Density
- 8.19 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Black
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Euhedral crystals, massive
- Cleavage
- {001}, perfect
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector, Ore of tellurium
- Host rock
- Typically in hydrothermal vein Au–Te-bearing deposits
Where rockhounds find altaite
Classic worldwide localities
- Foote mine, Kings Mountain, Cleveland Co., North Carolina, USA
- Red Cloud mine, Gold Hill, Boulder Co., Colorado, USA
- Mayflower mine, Tobacco Root Mountains, Madison Co., Montana, USA
- Hilltop mine, near Las Cruces, Doña Ana Co., New Mexico, USA
- Zavodinskii mine, near Ziryanovsk, Altai Mountains, Kazakhstan (type locality), hundreds of kg
- Bereznyakov gold deposit, Southern Ural Mountains, Russia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: Typically in hydrothermal vein Au–Te-bearing deposits. If you start seeing gold, silver, antimony in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: euhedral crystals, massive. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify altaite?+
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What rocks look like altaite?+
What minerals are found with altaite?+
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Find altaite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
