Altaite, or

lead telluride Lead telluride is a compound of lead and tellurium (PbTe). It crystallizes in the NaCl crystal structure with Pb atoms occupying the cation and Te forming the anionic lattice. It is a narrow gap semiconductor with a band gap of 0.32 eV. It occurs ...

, is a yellowish white mineral with an isometric crystal structure. Altaite is in the galena group of minerals as it shares many of properties of

galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It cry ...

. Altaite has an unusually high density for a light-colored mineral. Altaite and other rare tellurides are classified in the sulfide mineral class (Dana classification). Altaite was discovered in 1845 in the Altai Mountains. Besides these mountains altaite can also be found in Zyryanovsk,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

; the Ritchie Creek Deposit in

Price County, Wisconsin Price County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,054. Its county seat is Phillips. History Price County was created on March 3, 1879, when Wisconsin Governor William E. Smith signed legisl ...

; the Koch-Bulak

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

deposit in

;

Moctezuma Montezuma or Moctezuma may refer to: People * Moctezuma I (1398–1469), the second Aztec emperor and fifth king of Tenochtitlan * Moctezuma II (c. 1460–1520), ninth Aztec emperor ** Pedro Moctezuma, a son of Montezuma II ** Isabel Moctezuma ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

; and

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port List of cities in Chile, city, Communes of Chile, commune and Capital city, capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Seren ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

among other locations.

References

{{Commons category, Altaite Lead minerals Telluride minerals Galena group Cubic minerals Minerals in space group 225 Minerals described in 1845

See also

References