Breithauptite

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Breithauptite
Breithauptite-229669.jpg
Breithauptite on calcite from the Samson Mine, St Andreasberg, Harz Mountains, Lower Saxony, Germany (Field of view 17 mm)
General
CategoryAntimonide mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
nickel antimonide (NiSb)
IMA symbol Bhp [1]
Strunz classification 2.CC.05
Crystal system Hexagonal
Crystal class Dihexagonal dipyramidal (6/mmm)
H-M symbol: (6/m 2/m 2/m)
Space group P63/mmc
Unit cell a = 3.946 Å, c = 5.148 Å, Z = 2
Identification
ColorPale copper-red, may be with violet tint
Crystal habit Crystals rare, thin tabular or needlelike, to 1 mm; arborescent, disseminated, massive
Twinning Twin plane {1011}
Cleavage None
Fracture Subconchoidal to uneven
Tenacity Brittle
Mohs scale hardness5.5
Luster Metallic
Streak Reddish brown
Diaphaneity Opaque
Specific gravity 7.591–8.23 measured; 8.629 calculated
Pleochroism Very distinct
References [2] [3] [4]

Breithauptite is a nickel antimonide mineral with the simple formula NiSb. Breithauptite is a metallic opaque copper-red mineral crystallizing in the hexagonal - dihexagonal dipyramidal crystal system. It is typically massive to reniform in habit, but is observed as tabular crystals. It has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4 and a specific gravity of 8.23.

It occurs in hydrothermal calcite veins associated with cobaltnickelsilver ores.

Massive breithauptite with orange-brown nickeline and minor quartz from the Cobalt area of Ontario, Canada Breithauptite.jpg
Massive breithauptite with orange-brown nickeline and minor quartz from the Cobalt area of Ontario, Canada

It was first described in 1840 from the Harz Mountains, Lower Saxony, Germany, and in 1845 for occurrences in the Cobalt and Thunder Bay districts of Ontario, Canada. It was named to honor Saxon mineralogist Johann Friedrich August Breithaupt (1791–1873).

See also

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Erythrite, also known as red cobalt, is a secondary hydrated cobalt arsenate mineral with the formula Co
3
(AsO
4
)
2
•8H
2
O
. Erythrite and annabergite, chemical formula Ni
3
(AsO
4
)
2
•8H
2
O
, or nickel arsenate form a complete series with the general formula (Co,Ni)
3
(AsO
4
)
2
•8H
2
O
.

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Talmessite is a hydrated calcium magnesium arsenate, often with significant amounts of cobalt or nickel. It was named in 1960 for the type locality, the Talmessi mine, Anarak district, Iran. It forms a series with β-Roselite, where cobalt replaces some of the magnesium, and with gaitite, where zinc replaces the magnesium. All these minerals are members of the fairfieldite group. Talmessite is dimorphic with wendwilsonite.

Moorhouseite is a rare mineral with the formula CoSO4•6H2O, a naturally occurring cobalt(II) sulfate hexahydrate. It is the lower-hydrate-equivalent of bieberite (heptahydrate) and aplowite (hexahydrate). It is also hydrated equivalent of cobaltkieserite. It occurs together with moorhouseite within efflorescences found in the Magnet Cove Barium Corporation mine in Walton, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2021.43 . S2CID   235729616.
  2. Handbook of Mineralogy
  3. Mindat with location data
  4. Webmineral data