Vote for your favorite mineral in #MinCup26! - Halite vs. Chrysocolla
It's blue skies ahead as multicoloured cubes of Halite are up against the bubbly cool-toned Chrysocolla.
Log InRegister
Quick Links : The Mindat ManualThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryMindat Newsletter [Free Download]
Home PageAbout MindatThe Mindat ManualHistory of MindatCopyright StatusWho We AreContact UsAdvertise on Mindat
Donate to MindatCorporate SponsorshipSponsor a PageSponsored PagesMindat AdvertisersAdvertise on Mindat
Learning CenterWhat is a mineral?The most common minerals on earthInformation for EducatorsMindat ArticlesThe ElementsThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryGeologic TimeExplore Fossils
Minerals by PropertiesMinerals by ChemistryMineral Visual ExplorerAdvanced Locality SearchRandom MineralRandom LocalitySearch by minIDLocalities Near MeSearch ArticlesSearch GlossaryMore Search Options
Search For:
Mineral Name:
Locality Name:
Keyword(s):
 
The Mindat ManualAdd a New PhotoRate PhotosLocality Edit ReportCoordinate Completion ReportAdd Glossary Item
Mining CompaniesStatisticsUsersMineral MuseumsClubs & OrganizationsMineral Shows & EventsThe Mindat DirectoryDevice SettingsThe Mineral QuizTime Machine
Photo SearchPhoto GalleriesSearch by ColorPhoto Colour ExplorerNew Photos TodayNew Photos YesterdayMembers' Photo GalleriesPast Photo of the Day GalleryPhotography

Tubulite

A valid IMA mineral species
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
06081600017272472121351.jpg
Tubulite

Le Rivet Quarry, Peyrebrune, Montredon-Labessonnié, Castres, Tarn, Occitanie, France
04646310017272472133522.jpg
Tubulite

Borgofranco Mines, Biò, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
03473240017272472143989.jpg
Tubulite

Borgofranco Mines, Biò, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
06227810017864941651992.jpg
Tubulite

Le Rivet Quarry, Peyrebrune, Montredon-Labessonnié, Castres, Tarn, Occitanie, France
09256250017272022257383.jpg
Tubulite

Borgofranco Mines, Biò, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
08709990017272022241795.jpg
Tubulite

Borgofranco Mines, Biò, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
00946410017272472152689.jpg
Tubulite

Le Rivet Quarry, Peyrebrune, Montredon-Labessonnié, Castres, Tarn, Occitanie, France
09256250017272022257383.jpg
Tubulite

Borgofranco Mines, Biò, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Hide all sections | Show all sections

About TubuliteHide

Formula:
Ag2Pb22Sb20S53
Colour:
Black
Lustre:
Metallic
Specific Gravity:
6.06 (Calculated)
Crystal System:
Monoclinic
Name:
Named after its characteristic tubular morphology.
A characteristic of this mineral is its peculiar tubular morphology. On the origin of the tubes, Moëlo et al (2014) propose that this is caused by capillary forces acting on very thin lamellar crystallites around gas bubbles or liquid droplets.

The unit cell of tubulite is very close to those of sterryite and parasterryite.

Compare 'UM1979-14-S:AgPbSb'.


Unique IdentifiersHide

Mindat ID:
42737
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:42737:3

Similar NamesHide

TobeliteA valid IMA mineral species(NH4)Al2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
TululiteA valid IMA mineral speciesCa14(Fe3+,Al)(Al,Zn,Fe3+,Si,P,Mn,Mg)15O36

IMA Classification of TubuliteHide

Classification of TubuliteHide

Strunz-mindat (2026):
2.JB.35f

2 : SULFIDES and SULFOSALTS (sulfides, selenides, tellurides; arsenides, antimonides, bismuthides; sulfarsenites, sulfantimonites, sulfbismuthites, etc.)
J : Sulfosalts of PbS archetype
B : Galena derivatives, with Pb
Dana 8th ed.:
3.5.22.

3 : SULFOSALTS
5 : 2.5 < ø < 3

Mineral SymbolsHide

As of 2021 there are now IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols (abbreviations) for each mineral species, useful for tables and diagrams.

SymbolSourceReference for Standard
TubIMA–CNMNCWarr, L.N. (2021). IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols. Mineralogical Magazine, 85(3), 291-320. doi:10.1180/mgm.2021.43

Physical Properties of TubuliteHide

Lustre:
Metallic
Transparency:
Translucent
Colour:
Black
Comment:
Thin tubes transmit red light.
Density:
6.06 g/cm3 (Calculated)

Chemistry of TubuliteHide

Mindat Formula:
Ag2Pb22Sb20S53
Element Weights:
Element% weight
Pb51.168 %
Sb27.335 %
S19.076 %
Ag2.422 %

Calculated from ideal end-member formula.
Pb
Sb
S
Ag
Elements listed:
Ag, Pb, S, Sb - search for minerals with similar chemistry

Crystallography of TubuliteHide

Crystal System:
Monoclinic
Class (H-M):
m - Domatic
Space Group:
Pb
Setting:
Pc
Cell Parameters:
a = 4.132(2) Å, b = 43.1(2) Å, c = 27.4(1) Å
β = 93.2(3)°
Ratio:
a:b:c = 0.096 : 1 : 0.636
Unit Cell V:
4872 ų
Z:
2
Morphology:
Micro-tubes; hair-like.
Comment:
Uncertain space group : Pc or P2/c or P21/c

X-Ray Powder DiffractionHide

Geological EnvironmentHide

Paragenetic Mode(s):
Paragenetic ModeEarliest Age (Ga)
High-? alteration and/or metamorphism
33 : Minerals deposited by hydrothermal metal-rich fluids (see also [#12])

Type Occurrence of TubuliteHide

Co-Type Localities:
ⓘ Le Rivet Quarry, Peyrebrune, Montredon-Labessonnié, Castres, Tarn, Occitanie, France
ⓘ Borgofranco Mines, Biò, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
General Appearance of Type Material:
It forms very thin perfect micro-tubes, 100 to 600 micron in length, 40 to 100 micron in diameter, and only 1 to 2 micron in thickness; At Biò: hairlike.
Place of Conservation of Type Material:
Museum of Mineralogy of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, Paris, France, catalogue number M 82939

Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy, catalogue number 15905
Geological Setting of Type Material:
Gangue of quartz, baryte and carbonates (At Le Rivet).
Associated Minerals at Type Locality:
ArsenopyriteBaryteChalcopyriteGalenaMarcasite
PyritePyrrhotiteQuartzStibnite
Reference:
Moëlo, Yves, Pecorini, Robert, Ciriotti, Marco E., Meisser, Nicolas, Caldes, Maria Teresa, Orlandi, Paolo, Petit, Pierre-Emmanuel, Martini, Bruno, Salvetti, Adrio (2014) Tubulite, ~Ag2Pb22Sb20S53, a new Pb-Ag-Sb sulfosalt from Le Rivet quarry, Peyrebrune ore field (Tarn, France) and Biò, Borgofranco mines, Borgofranco d'Ivrea (Piedmont, Italy). European Journal of Mineralogy, 25 (6). 1017-1030 doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2013/0025-2334

Synonyms of TubuliteHide

Other Language Names for TubuliteHide

Dutch:Tubuliet
German:Tubulit

Common AssociatesHide

Associations Based on Photo Data:
13 photos of Tubulite associated with BoulangeritePb5Sb4S11
8 photos of Tubulite associated with GalenaPbS
7 photos of Tubulite associated with QuartzSiO2
4 photos of Tubulite associated with SideriteFeCO3
1 photo of Tubulite associated with SemseyitePb9Sb8S21

Related Minerals - Strunz-mindat GroupingHide

2.JB.Clino-oscarkempffiteAg15Pb6Sb21Bi18S72Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.ArsenquatrandoriteAg17.6Pb12.8Sb38.1As11.5S96Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.GinelfiteAg2(Ag0.5Fe)TlPb23.5(Sb,As)33.5S76Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.AndreadiniiteCuHgAg7Pb7Sb24S48Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.ChukotkaiteAgPb7Sb5S15Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.SelenojunoiteCu2Pb3Bi8Se16Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.LechneriteAg10Cu4HgPb33Sb58S128Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.Cuprosenandorite Ag16Cu8Pb24Sb72S144Orth. mm2 : Pna21
2.JB.MorleyiteAg2CuPb25Sb24As4S68.5Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.LazerckeriteAg3.75Pb4.50(Sb7.75Bi4)S24Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.LasmanisiteAg12Pb13Mn11Sb44S96Orth. 222 : P212121
2.JB.MontpelvouxiteAgPb16Sb27As18S84Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.SenandoriteAgPbSb3S6Orth. mm2 : Pmn21
2.JB.OscarkempffiteAg10Pb4(Sb17Bi9)S48Orth. mm2
2.JB.05DiaphoriteAg3Pb2Sb3S8Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.10CosalitePb2Bi2S5Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m)
2.JB.15MarriteAgPbAsS3Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.15FreieslebeniteAgPbSbS3Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.20CannizzaritePb48Bi56S132Mon. 2/m : P21/m
2.JB.20WittitePb9Bi12(S,Se)27Mon.
2.JB.25jRouxeliteCu2HgPb23Sb27S65.5Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.25iNeyiteAg2Cu6Pb25Bi26S68Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.25aJunoiteCu2Pb3Bi8(S,Se)16Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.25fÁngelaiteCu2AgPbBiS4Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
2.JB.25eGalenobismutitePbBi2S4Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m)
2.JB.25cNordströmiteCuPb3Bi7(Se4S10)Mon. 2/m : P21/m
2.JB.25iCuproneyiteCu7Pb27Bi25S68Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.25gNuffielditeCu1.4Pb2.4Bi2.4Sb0.2S7Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
2.JB.25hWeibullitePb5Bi8Se7S11Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
2.JB.25dProuditeCuPb7.5Bi9.33(S,Se)22Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.25bFelbertaliteCu2Pb6Bi8S19Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.30aJordanitePb14As6S23Mon. 2/m : P21/m
2.JB.30aGeocronitePb14Sb6S23Mon. 2/m : P21/m
2.JB.30aArsenmarcobaldiitePb12(As3.2Sb2.8)Σ6S21Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.30bKirkiitePb10Bi3As3S19Mon. 2/m : P21/m
2.JB.30cTsugaruitePb28As15S50ClOrth. mm2 : Pnn2
2.JB.30aMarcobaldiitePb12(Sb3As2Bi)Σ6S21Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.35dPellouxite(Cu,Ag)Pb10Sb12S27O(Cl,S)0.6Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.35eChovanitePb15-2xSb14+2xS36Ox (x ~ 0.2)Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.35aZinkenitePb9Sb22S42Hex. 6 : P63
2.JB.35cPillaitePb9Sb10S23ClO0.5Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.35bScainiitePb14Sb30S54O5Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.40aFizélyiteAg5Pb14Sb21S48Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aRamdohritePb5.9Fe0.1Mn0.1In0.1Cd0.2Ag2.8Sb10.8S24Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40eUstarasitePb(Bi,Sb)6S10 (?)
2.JB.40a'Bursaite'Pb5Bi4S11 (?)Orth.
2.JB.40'UM1988-05-S:AgBiCuHgPb'(Hg,Ag,Cu,Pb)5Pb5Bi11S27
2.JB.40'UM1988-06-S:AgBiCuHgPb'(Pb,Hg)12(Cu,Ag)3(Bi,Sb)10(S,Te)27
2.JB.40aTerrywallaceiteAgPb(Sb,Bi)3S6Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aJasrouxiteAg16Pb4(Sb25As15)S72Tric. 1 : P1
2.JB.40aTarutinoiteAg3Pb7Bi7S19Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.40aOyoniteAg3Mn2Pb4Sb7As4S24Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40bHeyrovskýitePb6Bi2S9Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Cccm
2.JB.40aQuatrandoriteAgPbSb3S6Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aErzwiesiteAg8Pb12Bi16S40Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Cmcm
2.JB.40aVikingiteAg5Pb8Bi13S30Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.40aLillianitePb3-2xAgxBi2+xS6Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m)
2.JB.40bBaiamareiteAg4Pb12Fe4Sb20S48Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aStaročeskéiteAg0.70Pb1.60(Bi1.35Sb1.35)Σ2.70S6Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Cmcm
2.JB.40aRoshchiniteAg19Pb10Sb51S96Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pnma
2.JB.40bAschamalmitePb6-3xBi2+xS9Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.40bEskimoiteAg7Pb10Bi15S36Mon.
2.JB.40aMenchettiiteAgPb2.40Mn1.60Sb3As2S12Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aHolubiteAg3Pb6(Sb8Bi3)S24Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aBrusnitsyniteMn3CuPbAs3Sb2S12Mon. 2/m : P21/c
2.JB.40aTreasuriteAg7Pb6Bi15S32Mon.
2.JB.40cOurayiteAg3Pb4Bi5S13Orth.
2.JB.40aUchucchacuaiteAgMnPb3Sb5S12Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m) : Pmmm
2.JB.40d'Schirmerite'PbAgBi3S6 - Pb3Ag1.5Bi3.5S9Orth.
2.JB.40aXilingolitePb3Bi2S6Mon.
2.JB.40aGustaviteAgPbBi3S6Orth. mmm(2/m2/m2/m)
2.JB.55GratonitePb9As4S15Trig. 3m : R3m
2.JB.60MarrucciiteHg3Pb16Sb18S46Mon. 2/m : B2/m
2.JB.65VurroitePb20Sn2(Bi,As)22S54Cl6Mon. 2/m : B2/b
2.JB.65TazieffitePb20Cd2(As,Bi)22S50Cl10Mon. 2/m : B2/b
2.JB.70DaliranitePbHgAs2S5Mon.

Other InformationHide

Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.

Internet Links for TubuliteHide

References for TubuliteHide

Localities for TubuliteHide

Showing 3 localities.

This map shows a selection of localities that have latitude and longitude coordinates recorded. Click on the symbol to view information about a locality. The symbol next to localities in the list can be used to jump to that position on the map.
Hide all sections | Show all sections

Locality ListHide

- This locality has map coordinates listed. - This locality has estimated coordinates. ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence. ? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality. - Good crystals or important locality for species. - World class for species or very significant. (TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species. (FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties). Struck out - Mineral was erroneously reported from this locality. Faded * - Never found at this locality but inferred to have existed at some point in the past (e.g. from pseudomorphs).

All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Czech Republic
 
  • Central Bohemian Region
    • Příbram District
      • Háje
        • Háje deposit
Dolníček et al. (2023)
France (TL)
 
  • Occitanie
    • Tarn
      • Castres
        • Montredon-Labessonnié
          • Peyrebrune
Williams et al. (2012) +1 other reference
Italy (TL)
 
  • Piedmont
    • Metropolitan City of Turin
      • Borgofranco d'Ivrea
        • Biò
Williams et al. (2012) +2 other references
Quick NavTopAbout TubuliteUnique IdentifiersSimilar NamesIMA Classification Classification Mineral SymbolsPhysical Properties Chemistry Crystallography X-Ray Powder DiffractionGeological EnvironmentType Occurrence SynonymsOther LanguagesCommon AssociatesStrunz-MindatOther InformationInternet Links References Localities Locality List
 
and/or  
Mindat.org® is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Mindat® and mindat.org® are registered trademarks of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2026, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau.
Content on this site may not be used to train, fine-tune, or otherwise develop artificial intelligence or machine learning models without prior written permission - see our Terms & Conditions.
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: September 23, 2026 07:21:53 Page updated: September 19, 2026 04:38:40
Go to top of page