Briartite
An opaque iron-grey copper-zinc-germanium sulfide discovered in 1965 at the Prince Léopold mine at Kipushi, Congo.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Briartite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the sulfide class, with the chemical formula Cu₂FeGeS₄.
It crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system (space group I-42m). It is a member of the Sphalerite, Stannite structural group.
Key properties: Mohs hardness 4.5; specific gravity 4.337.
IMA symbol Btt, IMA status: approved, named in 1965.
Occurs as rare inclusions in other Ge–Ga-bearing sulfides.
It is found associated with Chalcopyrite, tennantite, reniérite, germanite, galena, sphalerite.
The name refers to Gaston Briart, geologist who studied the Kipushi deposit.
Index entry. This entry combines official IMA/RRUFF species data with published physical-property data and a Wikipedia introduction — a full written entry hasn’t been published yet.
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