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Formula: (Pd,Cu)16(S,Te)7
Sulphide/telluride, palladium-bearing
mineral
Crystal System: Isometric
Specific gravity: 8.796 calculated
Hardness: 4½ to 5
Streak: Black
Colour: Steel-grey
Environments
Localities
At the type locality, Konstantinovo, Kameno Municipality, Burgas Province, Bulgaria, vasilite is found in
heavy-mineral concentrates. The host rocks are gravels, sands and bentonite
clays. The main clastic mineral in the gravels and sands is
quartz. The most common minerals in the heavy concentrates are
magnetite, chromite,
garnet, zircon,
rutile, ilmenite,
pyroxene, amphibole,
native gold, Au3Pd and the
platinum group minerals and alloys
platinum, isoferroplatinum,
palladium, iridium and
osmium variety iridosmine. These phases occur as individual grains up to 3-4 mm in size.
Cooperite, malanite,
braggite, vysotskite,
vasilite, osmium, osmium variety
iridosmine, platinum-bearing
osmium, erlichmanite,
laurite, hollingworthite,
bowieite,
bornite, rhodium-bearing
pyrrhotite, palladium-bearing
troilite, chromite and
augite are found as inclusions in all these grains. Vasilite is found as a
component of oval or spherical poly-mineralic inclusions, together with bowieite
and palladium-bearing troilite, in a
matrix of isoferroplatinum. The form of the vasilite grains is
irregular or platy, up to 100 microns in length and 35 microns in width
(CM 28.687-689).
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