Taenite (Fe,Ni) is a mineral found naturally on Earth mostly in iron meteorites. It is an alloy of iron and nickel, with nickel proportions of 20% up to 65%.
The name is derived from the Greek ταινία for "band, ribbon". Taenite is a major constituent of iron meteorites. In octahedrites it is found in bands interleaving with kamacite forming Widmanstätten patterns, whereas in ataxites it is the dominant constituent. In octahedrites a fine intermixture with kamacite can occur, which is called plessite.
Taenite is one of four known Fe-Ni meteorite minerals: The others are kamacite, tetrataenite, and antitaenite.
Properties
It is opaque with a metallic grayish to white color. The structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is around 8 g/cm3 and hardness is 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale. Taenite is magnetic, in contrast to antitaenite. The crystal lattice has the c≈a= 3.582±0.002 Å.[3] The Strunz classification is I/A.08-20, while the Dana classification is 1.1.11.2 . It is hexoctahedral (cubic) in structure.
Meteorite localities with taenite
- Campo del Cielo crater in Argentina.
- Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve in Australia.
- Canyon Diablo in Arizona.
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