Native silver (Ag) is metallic silver in its pure crystalline form — most famously occurring as wire, dendritic, and herringbone aggregates from Kongsberg (Norway), Cobalt (Ontario), and Andreasberg (Germany). Silver is the second-most malleable native metal after gold and forms in hydrothermal silver-arsenide assemblages alongside acanthite and proustite/pyrargyrite.
Key Facts
- Mohs hardness 2.5–3.
- Isometric; classic dendritic, wire, and arborescent crystal habits.
- Tarnishes black on exposure (Ag₂S surface film).
- Common in low-T hydrothermal Ag-As-Co-Ni veins.
- “Five-element” association: Ag-Co-Ni-As-Bi.
Notable Localities
Kongsberg (Norway) yielded historic wire silver. Cobalt (Ontario, Canada) and Andreasberg (Germany) supplied dendritic specimens.
Found at these Localities
- Bou Azzer District (布·阿扎尔钴矿区)
- Imiter Mine (伊米泰尔银矿)
- Erzgebirge / Krušné Hory (埃尔茨山脉/克鲁什内山(德捷边境矿带))
- Příbram (普日布拉姆银矿)
- Broken Hill (布罗肯希尔铅锌银矿)
- Kongsberg (康斯堡银矿)
- Cobalt, Ontario (安大略科博尔特银矿)
- Chañarcillo (查尼亚西略)
- Heqing Cu-Ag-Pb-Zn District (鹤庆铜银铅锌矿区)
- Ying Silver Mine (银矿(豫西银多金属矿带))
