Formula: (Zn,Fe)S
Origin of name: from Greek for treacherous
Crystal system: cubic
Crystal class: -43m
Twinning: common on {111} simple, penetration or lamellar
Unit cell: a = 5.406 Å
Colour: brown, black, yellow, green, red, gray, white, colourless
Diaphaneity:
Luster: resinous to adamantine
Habit: crystals tetrahedral, may appear octahedral, sometimes dodecahedral, massive, cleavable, granular, stalactitic
Hardness: 3.5 to 4
Specific gravity: 3.9 to 4.1
Cleavage: 1; {011} perfect
Tenacity: conchoidal, brittle
Streak: colourless to pale brown
Synonyms/varieties: blackjack, blende, cleiophane (pale-coloured variety), marasmolite, marmatite (Fe-rich variety), zincblende
Comments: trimorphous with matraite and wurtzite, also from a meteorite
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