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GEOREF RECORD

Structural and chemical characterization of dienerite, Ni (sub 3) As, and its revalidation as a mineral species

Paola Bonazzi and Luca Bindi
Structural and chemical characterization of dienerite, Ni (sub 3) As, and its revalidation as a mineral species (in A thematic issue dedicated to Professor Anthony J. Naldrett, C. Michael Lesher (prefacer), Louis J. Cabri (prefacer), Andrew M. McDonald (prefacer), Malte Junge (prefacer) and Frederick Ford (prefacer))
The Canadian Mineralogist (November 2021) 59 (6): 1887-1898

Abstract

Dienerite, ideally Ni (sub 3) As, was discovered in 1919 near Radstadt (Salzburg, Austria) and its description and chemical characterization date back to the 1920s. The paucity of reliable experimental data, as well as the absence of any other documented occurrences of such a mineral in over 80 years, led to the supposition of a typographic error in the transcription of the original chemical analysis, suggesting the mineral might in fact be nickelskutterudite [(Ni,Co,Fe)As (sub 3) ]. As a consequence, the mineral was discredited and deleted in the post-2006 IMA list of valid mineral species. Nonetheless, several minerals having a metal/As ratio close to 3:1 and a description fitting that of dienerite were reported after its discreditation. Here we report the discovery of minute inclusions in a sample of josephinite from Josephine Creek (Oregon, USA) exhibiting high optical and electron reflectance. Structural and chemical investigations unequivocally showed that a mineral having cubic structure [a = 9.6206(9) Aa, sp. gr. I3d; R1 = 0.0353] and ideal chemical formula Ni3As does exist, suggesting that dienerite could in fact be a valid species. The proposal to revalidate dienerite has been approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (IMA-Proposal 19-E). The neotype is deposited in the mineralogical collections of the Natural History Museum, University of Florence, Italy, under catalog number 3364/I.


ISSN: 0008-4476
EISSN: 1499-1276
Coden: CAMIA6
Serial Title: The Canadian Mineralogist
Serial Volume: 59
Serial Issue: 6
Title: Structural and chemical characterization of dienerite, Ni (sub 3) As, and its revalidation as a mineral species
Title: A thematic issue dedicated to Professor Anthony J. Naldrett
Author(s): Bonazzi, PaolaBindi, Luca
Author(s): Lesher, C. Michaelprefacer
Author(s): Cabri, Louis J.prefacer
Author(s): McDonald, Andrew M.prefacer
Author(s): Junge, Malteprefacer
Author(s): Ford, Frederickprefacer
Affiliation: Universita di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Florence, Italy
Affiliation: Laurentian University, Goodman School of Mines, Sudbury, ON, Canada
Pages: 1887-1898
Published: 202111
Text Language: English
Publisher: Mineralogical Association of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
References: 39
Accession Number: 2022-004743
Categories: Mineralogy of non-silicates
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. 6 tables
N47°53'60" - N47°53'60", E13°03'00" - E13°03'00"
Country of Publication: Canada
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2022, American Geosciences Institute. Abstract, copyright, Mineralogical Association of Canada
Update Code: 2022
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