MAUCHERITE

    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 from Hans-Seidel shafts I-II, Germany © Stephan Wolfsried
Maucherite from Hans-Seidel shafts I-II, Germany © Stephan Wolfsried
Maucherite from Eisleben, Thuringia, Germany © Christian Rewitzer
Maucherite from Eisleben, Thuringia, Germany © Jason B. Smith

Maucherite in the World

The best crystallized specimens of maucherite come from Eisleben (Thuringia, Germany). Beautiful samples are also known from the deposits of Sudbury and Cobalt (Ontario, Canada), Jeffrey near Abestos (Quebec), as well as Los Jarales (Andalusia, Spain). Maucherite exists in several deposits in the United States, in Morocco (Bou-Azzer) and in Great Britain.

Matlockite in France

In France, maucherite is reported in Peumerit (Finistère).

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

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