Michenerite

PdBiTec 2001-2005 Mineral Data Publishing, version 1

Crystal Data:

Cubic. Point Group: 23.

Typically as minute grains.

Physical Properties: Fracture: Conchoidal. Tenacity: Brittle. Hardness = 2.5
VHN = 306–317 (25 g load). D(meas.) = ∼9.5 D(calc.) = ∼10.0
Optical Properties: Opaque. Color: Silver-white to grayish white; in polished section,cream-white with a tinge of gray. Streak: Black. Luster: Metallic.
R: (400) 52.6, (420) 53,6, (440) 54.4, (460) 55.3, (480) 55.8, (500) 56.1, (520) 56.4, (540) 56.5,(560) 56.7, (580) 56.9, (600) 57.1, (620) 57.1, (640) 57.9, (660) 58.4, (680) 58.8, (700) 59.3
Cell Data:

Space Group: P 21 3. a = 6.646

Z=4

X-ray Powder Pattern: Synthetic PdBiTe.
2.974 (100), 2.000 (90), 2.715 (80), 1.773 (80), 1.451 (70), 1.234 (70), 0.8668 (70)
Chemistry:
PdPt
Ag
Ni

(1)
24.0
n.d.

(2)
24.1
1.1
0.2
0.1

(3)
24.02

BiSbTe

(1)
46.5
0.4
28.8

(2)
36.6
5.3
32.4

(3)
47.18
28.80

Total 99.7
99.8100.00(1) Vermilion mine, Sudbury, Canada; by electron microprobe, corresponding to Pd1.00(Bi0.99 Sb0.01 )Σ=1.00 Te1.00 . (2) Kambalda, Australia; by electron microprobe, corresponding to(Pd0.96 Pt0.02 )Σ=0.98 (Bi0.74 Sb0.18 )Σ=0.92 Te1.08 . (3) PdBiTe.
Mineral Group:
Occurrence:

Pyrite group.

A principal palladium mineral in Cu–Ni sulfide deposits.

Association: Testibiopalladite, froodite, merenskyite, moncheite, kotulskite, melonite,sobolevskite, hollingworthite, sperrylite, hessite, chalcopyrite, pentlandite, cubanite, pyrrhotite.
Distribution: In Canada, in Ontario, from the Frood [TL] and other mines in the Sudburydistrict; at the Pipe mine, Manitoba; in the Wellgreen deposit, Yukon Territory. In the USA,
from the New Rambler Cu–Ni mine, Medicine Bow Mountains, east of Encampment, Albany Co.,
Wyoming; and in the Stillwater complex, Montana. From the Las Aguilas deposit, San Luis
Province, Argentina. In Russia, at the Oktyabr mine, Noril’sk region, western Siberia; from theMonchegorsk deposit, Kola Peninsula; in the Bissersk placers, Ural Mountains; at the Vostok
deposit, Lukkulaisvaara layered intrusion, Karelia. From Hitura, Finland. At the Gabbro Akarem,Eastern Desert, Egypt. In the Ban Phuc deposit, northwest Vietnam. At Kambalda, 56 km southof Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. From the Rustenburg mine, in the Merensky Reef, Bushveld
complex, Transvaal, South Africa. At Danba, Sichuan Province, China. Known in trace amounts
from a few other localities.
Name: In honor of Dr. Charles Edward Michener (1907– ), Canadian geologist for the Canadian
Nickel Company, who discovered the mineral.
Type Material: All original material consumed by analysis; redefined, Canadian GeologicalSurvey, Ottawa; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, M31189 and M29438.
References: (1) Hawley, J.E. and L.G. Berry (1958) Michenerite and froodite, palladium
bismuth minerals. Can. Mineral., 6, 200–209. (2) Cabri, L.J., D.C. Harris, and R.I. Gait
(1973) Michenerite (PdBiTe) redefined and froodite (PdBi2 ) confirmed from the Sudbury area.
Can. Mineral., 11, 903–912. (3) Genkin, A.D., N.N. Zhuravlev, and E.M. Smirnova (1963)
Moncheite and kotulskite—new minerals—and the composition of michenerite. Zap. Vses.
Mineral. Obshch., 92, 33–50 (in Russian). (4) Childs, J.D. and S.R. Hall (1973) The crystal
structure of michenerite, PdBiTe. Can. Mineral., 12, 61–65. (5) Hudson, D.R., B.W. Robinson,R.B.W. Vigers, and G.A. Travis (1978) Zoned michenerite–testibiopalladite from Kambalda,Western Australia. Can. Mineral., 16, 121–126. (6) Cabri, L.J., Ed. (1981) Platinum groupelements: mineralogy, geology, recovery. Can. Inst. Min. & Met., 120–121, 155. (7) Criddle, A.J.
and C.J. Stanley, Eds. (1993) Quantitative data file for ore minerals, 3rd ed. Chapman & Hall,London, 371.
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