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Formula: Fe5Si3
Silicide
Crystal System: Hexagonal
Specific gravity: 6.45 calculated
Hardness: 5
Streak: Black
Colour: Grey, steel-black
Magnetism: Strongly magnetic
Environments
Localities
At the type locality, Placer occurrences (Yanshan meteorite), Chengde, Hebei, China, both
gupeiite and xifengite occur as cores of spheres 0.1 to O.5 mm in
diameter in the placers. The spheres are composed of an outer shell of
magnetite, wüstite and
maghemite, an inner shell of
kamacite and taenite, and a core
of either gupeiite or xifengite. The indications are that the
spheres are of extraterrestrial origin
(AM 71.227-232).
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