Kamacite (a nickel-rich variety of Iron)
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Kamacite is named from the Greek "kamask" meaning "shaft" or "lath" in allusion to its typical patterns. Iron is named from an Old English word for the metal. The chemical symbol "Fe" is from the Latin "ferrum".

Discovered in Prehistory;   IMA status:  Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

alpha-(Fe,Ni)

Elemental Iron-Nickel

Molecular Weight:

56.13 gm

Composition:

Iron

89.54 %

Fe

Nickel

10.46 %

Ni

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Elements

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

1/A.07-20

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

1.AE.05

1 : ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)
A : Metals and Intermetallic Alloys
E : Iron-chromium family

Related to:

Iron-Nickel Group.

Varieties:

Kamacite, Taenite

Synonyms:

Iron Octahedrite

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Isometric - Hexoctahedral

Crystal Habit:

As plates and lamellar masses and in regular intergrowth with Taenite. May occur in crystals, to 30 cm; in extended plates and ribbons in Widmanstätten bands.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

{???} Indistinct

Fracture:

Hackly - Jagged, torn surfaces, (e.g. fractured metals).

Tenacity:

n/a

Moh's Hardness:

4.0

Density:

7.90 (g/cm³)

Luminescence:

None

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Magnetic

Optical Properties

Color:

Steel-Gray to iron-Black

Transparency:

Opaque

Luster:

Metallic

Refractive Index:

n/a

Birefringence:

0.00  (Isotropic)

Dispersion:

Distinct; r > v

Pleochroism:

None

Occurances

Geological Setting:

A major constituent of iron meteorites (siderites) and present in varying amounts in most other meteorites except certain of the stony meteorites (aerolites).

Common Associations:

Taenite, Graphite, Cohenite, Moissanite, Schreibersite, Troilite, Daubréelite, Oldhamite, other meteorite minerals

Common Impurities:

Co, C, P, S

Type Locality:

Possibly: Disko Island, Uivfaq, Blaafjeld, Greenland

Year Discovered:

1861

View mineral photos:

Kamacite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org 
Webmineral.com 

Kamacite is a nickel-rich variety of iron and is the principle constituent of a typical iron octahedrite meteorite. Iron found on Earth is mostly in the form of meteorites that have impacted the Earth's surface. There are very few sources of "native" iron. A few rare terrestrial gabbros (intrusive igneous rocks) and sulfide deposits do contain elemental iron-nickel deposits. These are the only truly native iron-nickel sources.

All natural iron, whether it is native or meteoritic, is actually an alloy of iron and nickel. The two elements are combined in varying percentages from less than 6% nickel to as much as 75% nickel, although iron is by far more common than nickel. Kamacite contains about 92% iron and 7% nickel. Another nickel-rich variety of iron meteorite is Taenite which typically contains about 25 - 40% iron.

Terrestrial occurrences of native iron are found at Blaafjeld, near Ovifak, Disko Island, Greenland; in Germany, from Bühl, near Weimar, Hesse; on the Putorana Plateau, Taimyr Peninsula, Russia. Iron meteorites are found worldwide.
 

  
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