Cupalite
A rare natural copper-aluminium alloy, sometimes with a few percent zinc or iron.
Intro adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cupalite is an IMA-recognized mineral species in the native element class, with the chemical formula CuAl.
It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system (space group C2/m).
Key properties: Metallic. Anisotropism: Very weak, from light gray to gray. R: (400) -, (420) -, (440) 66.8, (460) 66.1, (480) 65.3 luster.
IMA symbol Cup, IMA status: approved, named in 1983.
Found in black slick washed from greenish gray cover weathering from serpentine.
It is found associated with Khatyrkite, two unnamed zinc aluminides.
The name refers to the composition. Type Material: Mining Museum, Leningrad Mining Institute, Leningrad, USSR.
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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