Owyheeite is a rare lead-silver-antimony sulfosalt that typically presents as delicate, hair-like or acicular needles in metallic silver-gray tones. It is best identified by its association with galena and quartz in hydrothermal veins, often appearing as fibrous masses or matted clusters.
Is this owyheeite?
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 owyheeite with a known reference. Owyheeite sits at Mohs 2.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: reddish brown.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: metallic.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: lead gray, gray blue, yellowish, silver gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: acicular, fibrous, massive.
Often confused with
Owyheeite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Owyheeite leaves reddish brown, Jamesonite leaves black. grayish.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Owyheeite leaves reddish brown, Boulangerite leaves brownish.
How to tell apart: Streak differs, so Owyheeite leaves reddish brown, Galena leaves lead-gray.
Often found alongside owyheeite
Minerals reported to co-occur with owyheeite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ag₃Pb₁₀Sb₁₁S₂₈
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5
- Density
- 6.22-6.51 g/cm³
- Streak
- Reddish brown
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Acicular, fibrous, massive
- Cleavage
- {001}
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Uses
- Collector
- Host rock
- In veins of hydrothermal origin
Where rockhounds find owyheeite
Classic worldwide localities
- Poorman mine, Silver City district, Owyhee Co., Idaho (type locality) and at the Banner mine, Boise Co., USA
- Sheba mine, Star City, and at Rochester and in the Kaiser Tunnel, Morey district, Nye Co., Nevada, USA
- Domingo and Garfield mines, Gunnison Co., Colorado, USA
- McAlpine mine, Tuolumne Co., California, USA
- Alma property and Rambler mine, Slocan mining division, British Columbia, Canada
- Tintina silver mines, Yukon Territory, Canada
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In veins of hydrothermal origin. If you start seeing galena, sphalerite, pyrite in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: acicular, fibrous, massive. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop.
Common questions
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Find owyheeite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
