Formula: CuFeS2
Origin of name: From composition, copper and pyrite
Crystal system: Tetragonal
Crystal class: -42m
Twinning: On {112}, contact, penetration, repeated (fivelings), or lamellar; on {012}; on {110} about [100] axis, penetration
Unit cell: a = 5.289 Ǻ, c = 10.42 Ǻ
Colour: Brass-yellow, tarnishes iridescent
Diaphaneity: Opaque
Luster: Metallic
Habit: Crystals spheroidal, resemble tetrahedrons; massive, compact; reniform, botryoidal
Hardness: 3.5 to 4
Specific gravity: 4.35
Cleavage: 1; {011} sometimes distinct
Tenacity: Uneven; brittle
Streak: Greenish black
Synonyms/varieties:
Comments: Series with eskebornite. Primary mineral in hydrothermal veins, stockworks, disseminations and massive replacements, also found as an exsolution product in mafic igneous rocks, in some sediments controlled by redox conditions
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