Maucherite - Encyclopedia
Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
Subclass : Arsenides
Crystal system : Tetragonal
Chemistry : Ni11As8
Rarity : Rare
Maucherite is a rare nickel arsenide present in segregation deposits within basic magmatic rocks (Sudbury type, Ontario), and in nickel-bearing hydrothermal veins. It is a faithful companion of nickeline with which it shares most of the deposits, and of numerous other sulfides and arsenides of iron and nickel. It was named in honor of the German mineral merchant Wilhelm Maucher. Maucherite closely resembles nickelite : metallic luster, pinkish-gray color tarnishing to pale copper red. Most often massive, it appears quite frequently in tabular crystals, sometimes pyramidal with striated faces, or in fibroradiated spheroids with crystalline points.
Main photo : Maucherite from Eisleben, Thuringia, Germany © Uwe Haubenreisser
Maucherite in the World
Twinning
Twins are known on {203} and {106}.
Fakes and treatments
No fakes recorded for this mineral species.
Hardness : 5
Density : 7.83 to 8
Fracture : Irregular
Streak : Dark gray
TP : Opaque
RI : -
Birefringence : -
Optical character : -
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None
Solubility : Nitric acid
Magnetism : NoneRadioactivity : None