|
Click on a
letter above to view the list of gems. |
|
|
|
| Kamacite
is named from the Greek "kamask" meaning "shaft" or "lath"
in allusion to its typical patterns. Iron is named from
an Old English word for the metal. The chemical symbol
"Fe" is from the Latin "ferrum".
| Discovered
in Prehistory;
IMA
status:
Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
|
Chemistry
|
|
|
Chemical
Formula: |
alpha-(Fe,Ni)
|
|
Elemental
Iron-Nickel |
Molecular
Weight: |
56.13 gm
|
Composition: |
Iron |
89.54 % |
Fe |
|
|
|
Nickel |
10.46 % |
Ni |
|
|
|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
|
|
Classification
|
|
|
Mineral
Classification: |
Elements
|
Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
|
1/A.07-20
|
Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
|
1.AE.05
|
|
1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
A : Metals and Intermetallic Alloys E : Iron-chromium family
|
Related
to: |
Iron-Nickel Group.
|
Varieties: |
Kamacite,
Taenite
|
Synonyms: |
Iron
Octahedrite
|
|
|
Crystal
Data
|
|
|
Crystallography:
|
Isometric
- Hexoctahedral
|
Crystal
Habit:
|
As
plates and lamellar masses and in regular intergrowth
with Taenite. May occur in crystals, to 30 cm; in extended
plates and ribbons in Widmanstätten bands.
|
Twinning:
|
None
|
|
|
Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
{???}
Indistinct
|
Fracture: |
Hackly - Jagged, torn surfaces, (e.g. fractured metals).
|
Tenacity:
|
n/a
|
Moh's
Hardness: |
4.0
|
Density:
|
7.90 (g/cm3)
|
Luminescence:
|
None
|
Radioactivity:
|
Not
Radioactive
|
Other: |
Magnetic
|
|
|
Optical
Properties
|
|
|
Color: |
Steel-Gray
to iron-Black
|
Transparency: |
Opaque
|
Luster: |
Metallic
|
Refractive
Index: |
n/a
|
Birefringence: |
0.00 (Isotropic)
|
Dispersion: |
Distinct;
r > v
|
Pleochroism: |
None
|
|
|
Occurances
|
|
|
Geological
Setting: |
A
major constituent of iron meteorites (siderites) and
present in varying amounts in most other meteorites
except certain of the stony meteorites (aerolites).
|
Common
Associations: |
Taenite,
Graphite, Cohenite, Moissanite, Schreibersite, Troilite,
Daubréelite, Oldhamite, other meteorite minerals |
Common
Impurities: |
Co,
C, P, S |
Type
Locality: |
Possibly:
Disko Island, Uivfaq, Blaafjeld, Greenland |
Year
Discovered: |
1861
|
View
mineral photos: |
Kamacite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
|
|
More
Information
|
|
|
|
Mindat.org Webmineral.com
|
|
|
Kamacite
is a nickel-rich variety of iron and is the principle constituent of a typical iron
octahedrite meteorite. Iron found on Earth is mostly
in the form of meteorites that have impacted the Earth's
surface. There are very few sources of "native"
iron. A few rare terrestrial gabbros (intrusive igneous rocks)
and sulfide deposits do contain elemental iron-nickel deposits.
These are the only truly native
iron-nickel sources.
All natural iron, whether it is native or meteoritic, is actually an
alloy of iron and nickel.
The two elements are combined in varying percentages from less than 6%
nickel to as much as 75% nickel, although iron is by far more common
than nickel.
Kamacite contains about 92% iron and 7% nickel.
Another nickel-rich variety of iron meteorite is Taenite
which typically contains about 25 - 40% iron.
Terrestrial
occurrences of native iron are found at Blaafjeld, near Ovifak, Disko Island,
Greenland; in Germany, from Bühl, near Weimar, Hesse;
on the Putorana Plateau, Taimyr Peninsula, Russia. Iron
meteorites are found worldwide.
|
Kamacite
gems for sale:
We
have not photographed our Kamacite gems. Please
check back soon.
|
|