Anilite from Upper Michigan

Discover Anilite, a seldom-found copper sulfide mineral with a distinct metallic luster and sectile properties, primarily unearthed in a minor vein at the terminus of Forest Street in Painesdale, notable for its close resemblance to digenite in X-ray diffraction patterns.

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SKU AN500

Description Anilite from Upper Michigan

A relatively rare copper sulfide mineral found in a few hydrothermal veins. Northern Peninsula.
Houghton County: Painesdale: A small surface vein of “chalcocite” exposed near the end of Forest Street in Painesdale contains a black, metallic mineral that is probably anilite. Other minerals in the vein include quartz, minor domeykite, native copper, and malachite. The mineral thought to be anilite is sectile, shows distinct cleavage or parting, and in polished sections appears bluish-gray in reflected light. Its X-ray powder diffraction pattern is nearly identical to that of digenite (anilite transforms into diginite upon grinding), but with multiple peaks in the 28, 32, 42, and 55 degree 2-theta regions, more characteristic of anilite. A single crystal X-ray structure determiniation, required for positive identification, has not been done.
FROM: Robinson, G.W., 2004 Mineralogy of Michigan by E.W. Heinrich updated and revised: published by A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, Houghton, MI.