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Formula: (Pt,Pd)9Cu3Sn4
Alloy of platinum, palladium,
copper and tin, forms a series with
taimyrite
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Specific gravity: 13.55 calculated
Hardness: 3½
Colour: Pink
Environments
tatyanaite is defined as the member of the
tatyanaite-taimyrite solid-solution series with more
platinum than palladium.
Localities
At the type locality, the Oktyabrsky mine, Talnakh Cu-Ni Deposit, Noril'sk, Putoran Plateau, Taimyr Peninsula,
Taymyrskiy Autonomous Okrug, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia,
tatyanaite-taimyrite solid solution occurs in massive sulphide ore,
which consists of chalcopyrite and subordinate
pentlandite, pyrrhotite and
cubanite (or isocubanite). It
occurs as central zones of large, elongate grains up to 1 mm in size, and as aggregates of smaller grains associated
with silver-gold alloys. The associated
minerals include unusually platinum-rich
taimyrite,
atokite-rustenburgite,
paolovite, froodite,
sperrylite, maslovite and
galena. Cryptic zoning (platinum
increases and palladium decreases toward the centre) and polysynthetic
twins are characteristic.
Tatyanaite-taimyrite formed from a late-stage liquid rich in
noble metals, copper and tin
(EJM 12.391-396).
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