CATTIERITE

    Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
    Subclass : Sulfides
    Crystal system : Cubic
    Chemistry : CoS2
    Rarity : Very rare

Cattierite is a cobalt sulfide, equivalent to pyrite which is found on uranium deposits in carbonate environments. It was named in honor of Félicien Cattier, president of the mining union of Haut-Katanga (Congo). It forms rare cubic crystals not exceeding 1 cm, and usually occurs in grainy masses crystallized with other sulfides. It is slightly pink in color.

Main photo : Cattierite from Shinkolobwe Mine, Kambove, Haut-Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo © Paul de Bondt

Cattierite in the World

It is an extremely rare mineral discovered in the mainly uranium deposit of Shinkolobwe (Katanga) and which provided the most beautiful specimens known, cubes up to 1 cm. Cattierite also exists in several German deposits where it can occur in millimeter octahedra at the Wolfsberg mine and on scheelite at the Clara mine.

Cattierite in France

Cattierite is not present in the French underground.

Twinning and special crystallizations

No known twins.

Fakes and treatments

No fake identified for this mineral species.


Hardness : 4
Density : 4.82
Fracture : Irregular
Streak : Gray

TP : Opaque
RI : -
Birefringence : None
Optical character : None
Pleochroism : None
Fluorescence : None

Solubility : -


Magnetism : None
Radioactivity : None