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Wairauite—a new cobalt-iron mineral

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

G. A. Challis
Affiliation:
Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, University of Cambridge
J. V. P. Long
Affiliation:
Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, University of Cambridge

Summary

A new cobalt-iron mineral of composition close to CoFe has been found associated with awaruite (Ni3Fe) in the Red Hills serpentinites of the Wairau Valley, South Island, New Zealand. The name wairauite, after this locality, is proposed. Electron-probe analysis of the small grains so far discovered has shown that the nickel content is very low (0·5 ± 0·1 wt. %). Wairauite is optically very similar to awaruite but a tendency to form euhedral grains (octahedron and cube) and a slightly lower refiectivity are an aid to identification. No X-ray data are available at present, but it is suggested that the structure may correspond to that of the ordered CsCl type of the synthetic alloy of the same composition.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 1964, The Mineralogical Society

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