Friedrich Mohs harder. This became the basis of the hardness scale developed by Mohs. The hardest mineral, diamond was given a value of 10 and softer minerals such as talc were given the very low value of 1 (unity). Other minerals were given intermediate values, depending on their ability to scratch another mineral in the scale. Thus gypsum was given the value 2 because it will scratch talc crystals, and calcite the value 3 because it will scratch gypsum. Minerals are also now classified by chemical characteristics, but the physical properties are still useful in field examination. In 1812, Mohs became a
Temagamite Temagamite Temagamite is a bright white palladium mercury telluride mineral with a hardness of on the Mohs scale. Its chemical formula is PdHgTe. It was discovered at the Temagami Mine on Temagami Island, Lake Temagami in 1973, and it represents a rare mineral in the Temagami Greenstone Belt. It occurs as microscopic inclusions within massive chalcopyrite at Temagami in association with other rare tellurides: merenskyite, stützite, hessite and an unnamed Pd-Hg-Ag telluride. In addition to the discovery locality, it has been reported from the Stillwater igneous complex in Montana and the New Rambler copper–nickel mine in the Medicine Bow Mountains