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Murchisite, Cr5S6, a new mineral from the Murchison meteorite

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Published/Copyright: April 2, 2015
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 96 Issue 11-12

Abstract

Murchisite (IMA 2010-003), Cr5S6, is a new chromium sulfide mineral, discovered in the Murchison CM2 meteorite. The type material occurs as one subhedral crystal (1.3 × 4 mm in size) in contact with low-Ni iron (“kamacite”), martensitic iron, schreibersite, and a Ca-,Al-rich glass, all of which are included in an isolated forsteritic olivine grain in the meteorite’s matrix. The mean chemical composition determined by electron microprobe analysis of the type material is (wt%) Cr 53.32, S 42.87, V 1.44, Fe 1.14, P 0.10, Ni 0.10, sum 98.97. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 6 S atoms is (Cr4.60V0.13Fe0.09Ni0.01)Σ4.83(S6.00P0.01)Σ6.01. Murchisite was also identified in another isolated olivine grain from the same meteorite. These crystals are subhedral to round in shape, 300 nm to 1 mm in size, and occur in association with tochilinite and serpentine, within which it is included, chromite, and eskolaite. Its electron backscatter diffraction patterns are an excellent match to that of synthetic Cr5S6 with the P31c structure, showing a = 5.982, c = 11.509 Å, V = 356.67 Å3, and Z = 2, based on previously published data from synthetic material. Murchisite is named for the locality (the Murchison meteorite). It is a low-temperature phase (~327 °C in the Cr-S system), probably formed from higher temperature Cr1-xS exsolved or expelled from a Cr-,S-bearing, metal-rich spherule included in forsteritic olivine grains that were probably derived from chondrule fragments. The formation of this phase reflects sulfur fugacities intermediate between those that would have led to troilite and those that would have led to no sulfide at all. The high-temperature Cr1-xS phase equilibrated with coexisting alloys to ~600 °C. Murchisite formed from this precursor at low temperatures (<~300 °C) through ordering of S vacancies.

KeywordS : Murchisite; Cr5S6; new mineral; chromium sulfide; olivine; Murchison meteorite; carbonaceous chondrite
Received: 2011-4-11
Accepted: 2011-7-13
Published Online: 2015-4-2
Published in Print: 2011-11-1

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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  14. On the presence of OH defects in the zircon-type phosphate mineral xenotime, (Y,REE)PO4
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  17. Crystal-chemical and structural characterization of fluorapatites in ejecta from Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex
  18. In situ ion-microprobe determination of trace element partition coefficients for hornblende, plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and apatite in equilibrium with natural rhyolitic glass, Little Glass Mountain Rhyolite, California
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  24. Murchisite, Cr5S6, a new mineral from the Murchison meteorite
https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2011.3858
Keywords for this article
Murchisite; Cr5S6; new mineral; chromium sulfide; olivine; Murchison meteorite; carbonaceous chondrite

Articles in the same Issue

  1. In situ stress-strain measurements in a deformation-DIA apparatus at P-T conditions of the upper part of the mantle transition zone
  2. Element diffusion rates in lunar granulitic breccias: Evidence for contact metamorphism on the Moon
  3. The crystal structure of franckeite, Pb21.7Sn9.3Fe4.0Sb8.1S56.9
  4. Ammonium vermiculite in schists from the Betic Cordillera (Spain)
  5. Natrolite is not a “soda-stone” anymore: Structural study of alkali (Li+), alkaline-earth (Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+) and heavy metal (Cd2+, Pb2+, Ag+) cation-exchanged natrolites
  6. Analysis of hydrogen in olivine by SIMS: Evaluation of standards and protocol
  7. New accurate elastic parameters for the forsterite-fayalite solid solution
  8. In-situ mid/far micro-FTIR spectroscopy to trace pressure-induced phase transitions in strontium feldspar and wadsleyite
  9. Structural study of the coherent dehydration of wadsleyite
  10. An atomic force microscopy study of diamond dissolution features: The effect of H2O and CO2 in the fluid on diamond morphology
  11. Unraveling the stacking structure in tubular halloysite using a new TEM with computer-assisted minimal-dose system
  12. High-pressure structural behavior of α-Fe2O3 studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation up to 25 GPa
  13. The IR vibrational properties of six members of the garnet family: A quantum mechanical ab initio study
  14. On the presence of OH defects in the zircon-type phosphate mineral xenotime, (Y,REE)PO4
  15. Cesium and strontium incorporation into zeolite-type phases during homogeneous nucleation from caustic solutions
  16. Electrical conductivity of albite at high temperatures and high pressures
  17. Crystal-chemical and structural characterization of fluorapatites in ejecta from Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex
  18. In situ ion-microprobe determination of trace element partition coefficients for hornblende, plagioclase, orthopyroxene, and apatite in equilibrium with natural rhyolitic glass, Little Glass Mountain Rhyolite, California
  19. In situ FTIR investigations at varying temperatures on hydrous components in rutile
  20. Methods to analyze metastable and microparticulate hydrated and hydrous iron sulfate minerals
  21. Crystal chemistry of Ti-rich ferriallanite-(Ce) from Cape Ashizuri, Shikoku Island, Japan
  22. Replacement of pyrrhotite by pyrite and marcasite under hydrothermal conditions up to 220 °C: An experimental study of reaction textures and mechanisms
  23. Argandite, Mn7(VO4)2(OH)8, the V analogue of allactite from the metamorphosed Mn ores at Pipji, Turtmann Valley, Switzerland
  24. Murchisite, Cr5S6, a new mineral from the Murchison meteorite
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