Awaruite
| Awaruite | |
|---|---|
 Awaruite pebble from Josephine County, Oregon, USA | |
| General | |
| Category | Native element mineral |
| Formula (repeating unit) | Ni2Fe to Ni3Fe |
| IMA symbol | Awr[1] |
| Strunz classification | 1.AE.20 Metals and intermetallic alloys |
| Dana classification | 01.01.11.04 Iron - nickel group |
| Crystal system | Cubic |
| Crystal class | Hexoctahedral (m3m) H-M symbol: (4/m 3 2/m) |
| Space group | Pm3m |
| Identification | |
| Color | Silver-white to grayish white |
| Crystal habit | Massive; as pebbles, grains and flakes; rarely as crystals; as rims or regular intergrowths with kamacite in meteorites |
| Tenacity | Malleable and flexible |
| Mohs scale hardness | 5.5 -6 |
| Luster | Metallic |
| Diaphaneity | Opaque |
| Specific gravity | 7.8–8.65 |
| Other characteristics | Strongly magnetic |
| References | [2][3][4] |
Awaruite is a naturally occurring alloy of nickel and iron with a composition from Ni2Fe to Ni3Fe.
Awaruite occurs in river placer deposits derived from serpentinized peridotites and ophiolites. It also occurs as a rare component of meteorites. It occurs in association with native gold and magnetite in placers; with copper, heazlewoodite, pentlandite, violarite, chromite, and millerite in peridotites; with kamacite, allabogdanite, schreibersite and graphite in meteorites.[2]
It was first described in 1885 for an occurrence along Gorge River, near Awarua Bay, South Island, New Zealand, its type locality.[2][3]
Awaruite is also known as josephinite in an occurrence in Josephine County, Oregon where it is found as placer nuggets in stream channels and masses in serpentinized portions of the . Some nuggets contain andradite garnet.[5]
An occurrence of awaruite is being developed commercially as an ore mineral in a large low grade deposit in central British Columbia, some 90 km northwest of Fort St. James. In the deposit awaruite occurs disseminated in the Mount Sidney Williams ultramafic/ophiolite complex.[6]
References[]
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/awaruite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy
- ^ a b http://www.mindat.org/min-439.html Mindat.org
- ^ http://www.webmineral.com/data/Awaruite.shtml Webmineral data
- ^ John M. Bird and Maura S. Weathers, Origin of josephinite, Geochemical Journal, Vol. 13, pp. 41 to 55, 1979 [1]
- ^ FPX Nickel Confirms Anticipated Timing for Completion of Preliminary Economic Assessment on Baptiste Nickel Deposit
- Native element minerals
- Cubic minerals
- Minerals in space group 221