Bohdanowiczite is a rare silver bismuth selenide typically found as microscopic grains or massive aggregates in hydrothermal ore deposits. It is challenging to identify in the field due to its small size and close visual similarity to other metallic gray sulfides and selenides, often requiring professional analysis for confirmation.
Is this bohdanowiczite?
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 bohdanowiczite with a known reference. Bohdanowiczite sits at Mohs 3.2, 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: lead gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: anhedral grains.
Often confused with
Bohdanowiczite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Bohdanowiczite leaves black, Galena leaves lead-gray.
How to tell apart: Bohdanowiczite is noticeably harder (Mohs 3.2 vs. 2.5); streak differs, so Bohdanowiczite leaves black, Matildite leaves pale gray.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Bohdanowiczite leaves black, Clausthalite leaves grayish black.
Often found alongside bohdanowiczite
Minerals reported to co-occur with bohdanowiczite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- AgBiSe₂
- Mohs hardness
- 3.2
- Density
- 7.87 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Black
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Anhedral grains
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In a strongly cracked zone formed in crystalline limestone adjacent to magnetite-bearing skarns (Kletno, Poland); in reduction halos in red beds (near Zurich, Switzerland)
Where rockhounds find bohdanowiczite
Classic worldwide localities
- Kletno, Sudetes Mountains, Poland (type locality)
- Clara mine, near Oberwolfach, the Mullenbach U deposit, Black Forest, and the Niederschlema-Alberoda U-Se-polymetallic deposit, Erzegebirge, Germany
- Found northwest of Zurich, Switzerland
- Ocna de Fier (Morávicza, Vaskő), Romania
- Elatsite porphyry copper deposit, Bulgaria
- Kidd Creek mine, near Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In a strongly cracked zone formed in crystalline limestone adjacent to magnetite-bearing skarns (Kletno, Poland); in reduction halos in red beds (near Zurich, Switzerland). If you start seeing clausthalite, tiemannite, umangite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: anhedral grains. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify bohdanowiczite?+
Where is bohdanowiczite found?+
Is bohdanowiczite safe to handle?+
What rocks look like bohdanowiczite?+
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Find bohdanowiczite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
