Images
Formula: FeSi
Silicide of iron
Crystal system: Isometric
Specific gravity: 6.128 calculated
Hardness: 6½
Streak: Greyish black
Colour: Steel-grey, tin-white
Environments
Derived from the mantle
Meteorites
Localities
At the type locality, Luobusha ophiolite, Qusum County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet, China, naquite is found in
a podiform chromitite in depleted
harzburgites. The type sample was separated from the
heavy-mineral constituents
from a 1500 kg sample of chromitite. Naquite occurs as
irregular grains ranging from 0.015 to 0.05 mm, intergrown with
luobusaite
(AM 99.1517, Mindat).
It is probably the product of a strongly reducing environment and possibly xenocrysts derived from a mantle source
(HOM).
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