Melonite
Melonite is a telluride of nickel; it is a metallic mineral. Its chemical formula is NiTe2. It is opaque and white to reddish-white in color, oxidizing in air to a brown tarnish.
| Melonite | |
|---|---|
 Melonite after calaverite, on quartz. Cresson mine, Cripple Creek, Colorado. Size: 1.3 × 0.9 × 0.4 cm. | |
| General | |
| Category | Sulfide minerals |
| Formula (repeating unit) | NiTe2 |
| IMA symbol | Mlt[1] |
| Strunz classification | 2.EA.20 |
| Dana classification | 02.12.14.01 |
| Crystal system | Trigonal |
| Crystal class | Hexagonal scalenohedral (3m) H-M symbol: (3 2/m) |
| Space group | P3m1 |
| Unit cell | a = 3.84 Å, c = 5.26 Å; Z = 1 |
| Identification | |
| Formula mass | 313.89 g/mol |
| Color | White, reddish white |
| Crystal habit | Crystalline, foliated, granular |
| Cleavage | {0001} Perfect |
| Fracture | Brittle |
| Mohs scale hardness | 1–1.5 |
| Luster | Metallic |
| Streak | Dark gray |
| Diaphaneity | Opaque |
| Specific gravity | 7.72 |
| Density | 7.3 |
| Ultraviolet fluorescence | None |
| References | [2][3][4][5] |
It was first described from the Melones and Stanislaus mine in Calaveras County, California in 1866, by Frederick Augustus Genth.
Melonite occurs as trigonal crystals, which cleave in a (0001) direction. It has a specific gravity of 7.72 and a hardness of 1–1.5 (very soft).
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.
- Mineralienatlas
- "Melonite Mineral Data". Webmineral.com. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- "Melonite mineral information and data". Mindat.org. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- "Mieralienatlas Lexikon - Melonit". Mieralienatlas. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
External links
Melonite and Calaverite, Kambalda, Coolgardie Shire, Western Australia. Melonite is a rare nickel telluride. This is a showy, solid foliated mass of lustrous, slightly iridescent melonite with a bit of brassy, golden pyrite on one side from this major nickel producing area.
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Melonite crystal structure (Wyckoff 1963), crystallographic standard alignment
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