Idaite

Cu3 FeS4 (?)
c 2001-2005 Mineral Data Publishing, version 1

Crystal Data: Hexagonal. Point Group: n.d. Massive, as rare discrete anhedral grains, asrims on chalcopyrite and as fracture fillings in chalcopyrite; also as exsolution lamellae in bornite.
Physical Properties:Hardness = 2.5–3.5 VHN = n.d. D(meas.) = 4.20 D(calc.) = 4.21

Optical Properties: Opaque. Color: Coppery red to pinchbeck-brown, bornitelike but nottarnished. Luster: Metallic. Anisotropism: Strong, reddish orange to reddish brown.
R1 –R2 : (400) 13.9–17.7, (420) 14.8–18.5, (440) 15.7–19.3, (460) 16.9–21.0, (480) 18.4–23.2, (500)
20.5–25.5, (520) 23.2–27.8, (540) 26.1–29.4, (560) 28.9–30.6, (580) 30.6–31.4, (600) 31.9–31.6, (620)
32.8–31.9, (640) 33.5–32.2, (660) 34.1–32.8, (680) 34.7–33.2, (700) 35.2–33.7
Cell Data:

Space Group: n.d.

a = 3.90

c = 16.95

Z=1

X-ray Powder Pattern: Ida mine, Khan, Namibia.
3.14 (100), 2.82 (100), 1.89 (100), 1.85 (100), 1.564 (100), 2.70 (80), 1.317 (80)
Chemistry:CuFeS

(1)
51.34
14.5
33.66

(2)
50.87
14.90
34.23

Total 99.50
100.00(1) Skouriotissa, Cyprus; by electron microprobe, average of five analyses. (2) Cu3 FeS4 .
Occurrence: A lamellar decomposition product of bornite, commonly associated with finespindles of chalcopyrite; apparently of secondary origin, a first product of enrichment.
Association: Chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcocite, pyrrhotite, mackinawite(Skouriotissa, Cyprus).
Distribution: Now noted at numerous localities world-wide. In Namibia, from the Ida mine,
Khan River Valley, Swakopmund district [TL]; and at Tsumeb. Found near Bou Azzer, Morocco.
At Nchanga, Zambia. From Skouriotissa, Cyprus. In Switzerland, near Grimentz, Valais. From
the Clara mine, near Oberwolfach, Black Forest, Germany. At the Repparfjord copper deposit,Finnmark, Norway. From Gruvberget, Sweden. At Sasca Montană and Ciresu, Mehedinti
Mountains, Romania. From the Radka deposit, Pazardzhik, and the Chelopech deposit, Sofia,
Bulgaria. In the USA, at upper White Canyon, San Juan Co., Utah. From Canada, at Algoma,Jarvis Township, Ontario. In Brazil, at Caraiba, Bom Fin, Bahia. In Chile, from several mines inthe Copiapó district, Atacama, and at El Indio, east of Coquimbo. In the Kaikita mine, Aomori
Prefecture; the Ojamine mine, Yamagata Prefecture; and other localities in Japan.
Name:

For the Ida mine in Namibia.

Type Material:n.d.

References: (1) Frenzel, G. (1958) Ein neues Mineral: Idait. Neues Jahrb. Mineral., Monatsh.,
142 (in German). (2) (1958) Amer. Mineral., 43, 1219 (abs. ref. 1). (3) Frenzel, G. (1959) Einneues Mineral: Idait, natürliches Cu5 FeS6 . Neues Jahrb. Mineral., Abh., 93, 87–114 (in German).
(4) (1959) Amer. Mineral., 44, 1327 (abs. ref. 3). (5) Yund, R.A. (1963) Crystal data for synthetic
Cu5.5x Fex S6.5x (idaite). Amer. Mineral., 48, 472–476. (6) Sillitoe, R.H. and A.H. Clark (1969)
Copper and copper-iron sulfides as the initial products of supergene oxidation, Copiapó mining
district, northern Chile. Amer. Mineral., 54, 1684–1710. (7) Constantinou, G. (1975) Idaite fromthe Skouriotissa massive sulfide orebody, Cyprus: Its composition and conditions of formation.
Amer. Mineral., 60, 1013–1018. (8) Rice, C.M., D. Atkin, J.F.W. Bowles, and A.J. Criddle (1979)
Nukundamite, a new mineral, and idaite. Mineral. Mag., 43, 194–200.
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