Christite is a very rare thallium-mercury sulfosalt that typically occurs as tiny, brilliant red tabular crystals. It is primarily found in association with realgar and other thallium minerals in specific gold-bearing hydrothermal deposits. Because of its toxicity and rarity, it is sought after exclusively by advanced mineral collectors.
Is this christite?
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 christite with a known reference. Christite sits at Mohs 1-2, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: bright orange, yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: adamantine.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: crimson red, bright orange.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: small tabular crystals.
Often confused with
Christite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Christite leaves bright orange, yellow, Realgar leaves red-orange to red; luster reads adamantine on Christite and resinous to greasy on Realgar.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Christite leaves bright orange, yellow, Cinnabar leaves scarlet.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Christite leaves bright orange, yellow, Smithite leaves vermilion.
Often found alongside christite
Minerals reported to co-occur with christite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- TlHgAsS₃
- Mohs hardness
- 1-2
- Density
- 6.15 g/cm³
- Colors
- Crimson redBright orange
- Streak
- Bright orange, yellow
- Luster
- Adamantine
- Transparency
- Opaque to semitransparent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Small tabular crystals
- Cleavage
- Perfect on {010}, excellent on {110} and {001}, good on {101}
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In hydrothermal barite veins and in mineralized carbonaceous silty dolostone (Carlin mine, Nevada, USA); in thallium-rich pods in a stratabound mercury deposit (Lanmuchang deposit, China)
Where rockhounds find christite
Classic worldwide localities
- Carlin mine, 50 km northwest of Elko, Lynn district, Eureka Co. (type locality), and in the Getchell mine, Potosi district, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA
- Lanmuchang Hg–Tl deposit, Guizhou Province, China
- Alšar (Allchar), near Rošden, Macedonia
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In hydrothermal barite veins and in mineralized carbonaceous silty dolostone (Carlin mine, Nevada, USA); in thallium-rich pods in a stratabound mercury deposit (Lanmuchang deposit, China). If you start seeing realgar, orpiment, lorandite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: small tabular crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
How do you identify christite?+
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What rocks look like christite?+
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Find christite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
