Class : Sulfides and sulfosalts
    Subclass : Sulfides
    Crystal system : Cubic
    Chemistry : NiS₂
    Rarity : Rare

Vaesite is the nickel equivalent of pyrite. It is a rare sulfide forming a series with cattierite, its cobalt equivalent, which is found in nickel hydrothermal mineralizations. It frequently contains low iron and cobalt contents. It was named in honor of the Belgian Johannes F. Vaes, mineralogist at the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga. Vaesite sometimes forms cubic or octahedral crystals, measuring 1 cm at most, but more often remains massive. It is a tin-white to yellowish mineral, tarnishing to black. It is an accessory ore of nickel.

Main photo : Vaesite from Castelluccio di Moscheda, Italy © Matteo Chinellato

Twinning is known on {111}.

No fakes listed for this mineral species.