Danielsite is a rare silver-mercury sulfiodide mineral typically found as small, translucent yellow tabular crystals. It is primarily known from the Jas Roux deposit in the French Alps and is highly sought after by advanced collectors of rare mercury species.
Is this danielsite?
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 danielsite with a known reference. Danielsite sits at Mohs 2-2.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: yellow.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: gray, steel gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: microscopic crystals.
Often confused with
Danielsite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Danielsite leaves yellow, Cinnabar leaves scarlet; luster reads metallic on Danielsite and adamantine, inclining to metallic when dark; dull in friable material on Cinnabar.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Danielsite leaves yellow, Smithite leaves vermilion; luster reads metallic on Danielsite and adamantine on Smithite.
Often found alongside danielsite
Minerals reported to co-occur with danielsite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- (Cu,Ag)₁₄HgS₈
- Mohs hardness
- 2-2.5
- Density
- 6.541 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- Yellow
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Microscopic crystals
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In a gossan pod in a quartz vein, as a weathering product derived from other sulfides
Where rockhounds find danielsite
Classic worldwide localities
- Coppin Pool, WA, Australia (type locality)
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In a gossan pod in a quartz vein, as a weathering product derived from other sulfides. If you start seeing anglesite, covellite, stromeyerite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: microscopic crystals. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find danielsite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
