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Formula: Rh5Ni10S16
Sulphide, kuvaevite group,
rhodium-bearing mineral
Crystal System: Trigonal
Specific gravity: 5.555 calculated
Colour: Slightly bluish, grey, pale creamy brown
Environments
Torryweiserite is a relatively new mineral approved in 2020.
Localities
At the type locality, the Marathon deposit, Coldwell complex, Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada,
torryweiserite was discovered in a heavy-mineral concentrate. The deposit consists of disseminated sulphides
hosted by gabbro. Associated minerals include
oberthürite, vysotskite, a
gold-silver alloy,
isoferroplatinum,
germanium-bearing keithconnite,
majakite, coldwellite,
cuprorhodsite–ferhodsite,
kotulskite, mertieite, and
the base-metal sulphides, chalcopyrite,
bornite, millerite, and
rhodium-bearing pentlandite.
Torryweiserite is thought to develop at about 500°C through ordering of
rhodium-nickel-sulphur nanoparticles
in precursor rhodium-bearing pentlandite during cooling. The paragenetic
sequence of the associated rhodium-bearing minerals is:
rhodium-bearing pentlandite →
oberthürite → torryweiserite →
ferhodsite-series minerals, reflecting a relative increase in rhodium
concentration with time.
The final step was driven by the oxidation of Fe2+ to
Fe3+ and subsequent preferential removal of Fe3+, similar to the process involved in the
conversion of pentlandite to
violarite
(CM 59.1833-1863).
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