Mineral: BISMUTH
Locality: Rovnost Mine (Werner Mine), Jáchymov, Karlovy Vary District, Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic
Dimension (mm): 48 x 33 x 40 mm
Weight (gr): 102 gram

Description / Notes: Bismuth forms tin-white with a pinkish tinge, metallic luster, opaque, coarse-grained, and massive aggregates that grow into the Ni-Co ore mixture and intergrow throughout the sample.

• Formula:Bi
• Colour:Reddish-white to creamy-white; tarnishes iridescent pinkish, yellowish or bluish
• Lustre:Metallic
• Hardness:2 - 2½
• Specific Gravity:9.7 - 9.83
• Crystal System:Trigonal
• Member of:Arsenic Group
• Name:As a chemical element Bismuth was officially discovered in 1753 by French scientist Claude Geoffroy. The origin of the name comes from the German words Weisse Masse meaning white mass. However, around 1400 the element name is already present in some scientific treaties. In fact before Geoffroy, also the Swiss scientist Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493 - 1541) probably better known under his Latinized name of Paracelsus, mentioned the word “Bisemutum”. He said that the Latin word came from a German term “Wissmut”. For him, the word “wissmut” was because in Saxony, around St. Georges, the mineral was extracted (gemutet), in the fields (in den Wiesen). For others, the word comes from another similar german word: Weissmuth = white material, and this is supported by the fact that bismuth is a bright metal of white colour.
• Type Locality:Schneeberg, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany
• IMA Status:  Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1500

Further information in mineralogy databases:

• Bismuth: Mineral information, data and localities. (mindat.org)
• Bismuth Mineral Data (webmineral.com)