Hexamolybdenum

hexamolybdenum

Images

Formula: (Mo,Ru,Fe,Ir,Os)
Alloy of molybdenum, ruthenium, iron, iridium and osmium, hexagonal paramorph of isometric molybdenum
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Specific gravity: 11.90 calculated
Environments

Meteorites

Localities

At the type Locality, the Allende meteorite, Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico, two new (in 2007) minerals were discovered in the carbonaceous chondrite as micro- to nano- crystals in an ultrarefractory inclusion; they are allendeite and hexamolybdenum. Hexamolybdenum's name refers to the primitive hexagonal symmetry and molybdenum-rich composition. The two minerals reflect conditions during early stages of the formation of the Solar System. Hexamolybdenum is part of a continuum of high-temperature alloys in meteorites supplying a link between osmium- and/or ruthenium -rich and iron-rich meteoritic alloys. It may be a derivative of the former and a precursor of the latter (AM 99.4.654-666).
Associated minerals include perovskite, tazheranite, spinel, kushiroite, allendeite and pyroxene group minerals (Mindat).
Hexamolybdenum from the Allende Meteorite - Image

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