This is a measure of the mineral's resistance to scratching. Gold has a hardness of 2.5 - 3 on Moh's scale of hardness . Cleavage This is the property of a mineral to break along planar, crystallographically controlled surfaces. Gold has no cleavage. Tenacity This describes the manner in which a mineral deforms under stress.
Gold is sectile and malleable.
This refers to the style of crystal growth. Gold can have many different habits including reticulated, branching, platy, filiform, spongy and massive. Form Gold has an isometric crystal system . In this system all three crystallographic axes are of equal lengths and at right angles to one another. Gold often forms octaheral, dodecahedral and cubic crystals.