| Polybasite | |
| Category: | Sulfosalt minerals |
| Imasymbol: | Plb[1] |
| Strunz: | 2.GB.15 |
| System: | Monoclinic and trigonal polytypes |
| Class: | Prismatic (2/m) (same H-M symbol) |
| Symmetry: | C2/c |
| Colour: | steel black |
| Cleavage: | poor on (001) |
| Fracture: | uneven |
| Mohs: | 1.5–2 |
| Lustre: | metallic, adamantine or glimmering |
| Streak: | black with reddish tint |
| Gravity: | 6–6.2 |
| References: | [2] [3] [4] [5] |
Polybasite is a sulfosalt mineral of silver, copper, antimony and arsenic. Its chemical formula is .
It forms black monoclinic crystals (thin, tabular, with six corners) which can show dark red internal reflections. It has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 3. It is found worldwide and is an ore of silver. The name comes from the number of base metals in the mineral.
