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Formula: Pd5InAs
Arsenide of palladium and
indium
Specific gravity: 10.78 calculated
Colour: Bright pinkish white in plane-polarized reflected light
Environments
Plutonic igneous environments
Hydrothermal environments
Viteite is a relatively new mineral, approved in 2019 and to date (April 2022) reported only from the type
locality.
Localities
The type locality is Borehole 1818, Monchetundra deposit, Monche tundra intrusion, Murmansk Oblast, Russia.
Indium is usually present in mineral deposits only as an impurity and rarely
forms its own minerals. Viteite is the first reported
palladium-indium mineral species.
Low-sulphide platinum group element mineralisation is located in
sulphide-bearing
olivine-pyroxenite,
pyroxenite and norite.
Rock-forming minerals include orthopyroxene,
olivine, plagioclase and
augite.
The primary silicates are almost totally replaced by
anthophyllite, actinolite,
magnesio-hornblende, mica
and chlorite. Minor chromite,
ilmenite and magnetite also occur.
Disseminated sulphides include pentlandite,
pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite,
heazlewoodite, violarite,
chalcocite, covellite,
digenite and galena.
The disseminated sulphides are weathered and oxidised in near-surface conditions and are replaced by
secondary magnetite,
goethite, and other
iron-copper-manganese
hydroxides.
Viteite was found in a specimen from a heavy-mineral concentrate made from material obtained from a drill core at
a depth of 36.1 m. This specimen represents oxidised ore of a sulphide-bearing
orthopyroxenite unit. The core specimen with viteite contains
relics of orthopyroxene, augite,
plagioclase replaced by
anthophyllite, actinolite,
magnesio-hornblende, mica,
chlorite, baryte,
quartz and goethite.
Precious metal minerals in the heavy mineral concentrate from the core specimen are represented by
sperrylite, irarsite,
hollingworthite,
keithconnite,
telluropalladinite,
telargpalite,
lukkulaisvaaraite,
tornroosite, bortnikovite,
gold-silver alloys,
isoferroplatinum,
tulameenite,
platinum-palladium-iron-copper
alloys and oxygenated compounds, and an unidentified mineral with composition Pd3Tl.
Viteite most likely developed under post-magmatic or hydrothermal conditions below about 600oC. It
occurs as elongated subhedral grains about 0.5 to 10 microns in size, in association with
hollingworthite, irarsite,
tulameenite, and
platinum-palladium-iron-copper alloys, all embedded in a
matrix of chalcocite, goethite and
covellite. Tulameenite is
replaced by
platinum-palladium-iron-copper
alloys and oxygenated compounds and viteite is replaced by
zvyagintsevite.
(CM 58.395-402).
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