Native Gold

Native gold in quartz matrix from the classic ore deposit of Săcărâmb (historically known as Nagyág), Hunedoara County, Romania. The specimen shows fine-grained, irregular to granular native gold disseminated along fractures and pockets within grey to white quartz, displaying a characteristic rich yellow metallic lustre.

The Săcărâmb deposit is world-renowned for its gold–telluride mineralization, and native gold from this locality commonly occurs together with or alongside tellurium-bearing minerals. The gold is typically of high purity and formed during low- to medium-temperature hydrothermal processes, related to late-stage epithermal mineralization.

At Săcărâmb, native gold is frequently associated with tellurides such as calaverite, sylvanite, krennerite, as well as quartz and minor sulfides. The note that other tellurides may be present in this specimen is consistent with the geological character of the locality, even when they are not macroscopically identifiable.

Native gold from Săcărâmb has been highly prized since the 18th and 19th centuries for both scientific study and mineral collections, and specimens from this locality remain highly collectible due to their historical importance and distinctive paragenesis.

This specimen originates from the former collection of C. Strömpl, an amateur mineralogist.