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Published on: July 1, 2020
Microstructural Insights into Natural Silver Wires.
Th Boellinghaus1, V Lüders2, G Nolze3
1BAM - Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, D-12205, Berlin, Germany. thomas.boellinghaus@bam.de.
This study details the first metallurgical investigation of natural wire silver, revealing its polycrystalline structure and trace element composition. Findings offer insights into natural silver formation, contrasting with artificial growth in electronics.
Area of Science:
- Mineralogy and Materials Science
- Geology and Metallurgy
Background:
- Increasing demand for pure silver drives industrial interest in natural wire silver aggregates.
- Limited metallurgical data exists for natural wire silver, hindering interdisciplinary understanding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct the first detailed metallurgical investigation of natural wire silver.
- To provide fundamental knowledge for geoscientists and metallurgical engineers.
- To compare natural silver aggregate growth with artificial growth in electronics.
Main Methods:
- Electron Back Scattering Diffraction (EBSD) analysis of 20 natural silver specimens.
- Supporting analyses using light microscopy and micro-probe techniques.
- Vickers micro-hardness testing for mechanical property assessment.
Main Results:
- Natural wire silver exhibits a polycrystalline, face-centered cubic microstructure with significant twinning.
- Samples, though high purity (Ag > 99.7 wt.%), contain diverse trace elements (S, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn, Co, Bi, As, Sb).
- Natural silver wires and curls are softer than predicted by their Mohs hardness.
Conclusions:
- The study elucidates the microstructure and composition of natural wire silver.
- Understanding natural silver growth offers comparative data for artificial silver formation in electronics.
- New micro-hardness data provides a more accurate mechanical property profile for natural silver.

